The Jakarta Post, March 13, 2006
A governor's perspective on North Maluku conflict
Thaib Armaiyn, Ternate
When the central government decided in 1999 to set up the province of North Maluku,
there were concerns over whether we would be able to establish the structure and
culture of an administrative system as a stable, new province. And questions were
raised as to whether we would also be capable of handling the prevalent conflict, as
the first mission the new administration had to undertake.
In the beginning, many circles doubted that the new provincial government would
succeed in these two mammoth tasks.
First, it was because the conflict was so extensive that the fabric of social life was
disrupted.
Second, due to the minimal institutional structures and infrastructure at this region's
disposal that year.
After more than six years of progress, history has shown that the North Maluku
regional administration along with the provincial population has the competence to
accomplish these challenging missions.
Two keys to the resolution of the North Maluku discord are the development of a solid
and responsive regional administration, and the creation of conditions for social
cohesion. The former is being realized in response to the institutional and
infrastructural limitations, and the latter is being brought about to overcome the
conflict in society.
The introduction of an appropriate system of regional administration strengthens the
capacity of government institutions in handling various social issues. Meanwhile,
social cohesion will enable dialog between community groups with diverse identities
and interests, for communication and problem solving on the basis of local cultural
values with a focus on tolerance.
Prof. Yash Ghai from Hong Kong University said the prerequisite to a peaceful,
definite and lasting settlement of conflict for all the disputing components in society is
the shaping of a forward-looking leadership and a strong determination on the part of
these societal groups in the relevant region to end their conflict.
This view supports the social cohesion theory of Malinowski that the integrity of a
region will be maintained if social life in the area is based solidly on reciprocity
between its constituting components under legal principles.
The theory has become a scientific inspiration for conflict handling attempts in North
Maluku conducted by the provincial administration. The main principle being nurtured
is to preserve and protect the reciprocal relationship between societal groups. This
principle can be experienced by society in the presence of a suitable and professional
system of administrative management.
In view of the vital role of the regional bureaucracy, leadership recruitment through
bureaucratic channels should also accommodate public interests. But the
bureaucracy should be neutral and beyond conflict as it already caters for different
social needs.
The pattern of conflict handling and management, which rekindles mutual trust
between societal groups, has to begin from the bureaucracy. We can be proud of the
fact that the solidity of the regional bureaucracy has been able to initiate conflict
resolution in North Maluku much earlier than people had earlier predicted.
So far, the regional administration and societal groups have held hundreds of activities
for conflict settlement, through community gatherings, interfaith meetings, youth
sessions and inter-village forums to deal with ongoing issues. It is the opening of such
intensive dialog that has sped up the return of most refugees to their ancestral homes.
A recent survey conducted by the research and development agency of the Social
Affairs Ministry on conflict handling in several parts of Indonesia including North
Maluku showed that 73.2 percent of victims in conflict areas wanted to have the
conflict settled by local people in relevant villages by involving religious, customary,
ethnic and competent community leaders.
Thirteen percent preferred conflict resolution to be conducted in places of worship with
religious leaders as facilitators. Only 7.5 percent chose to solve their conflict in police
stations and 5.7 percent through the courts.
Covering five of the regions with the worst communal conflict -- Sampit, Sambas,
Ambon, Poso and North Maluku -- the study also indicated that the communities in
conflict areas generally held no deep desire for vengeance. Some 16.9 percent even
spoke of the need to promote mutual understanding between disputing parties, 14.5
percent deemed mutual respect between ethnic/religious groups imperative and 8.8
percent considered mutual assistance a social asset to restore peace and normalcy.
The data pointed to the fact that conflict victims remained eager to live together in the
way they had prior to the conflict. They believed it necessary to forget previous
incidents, because winners or losers in the communal conflict were all victims of
violence and incurred material losses.
Therefore, it can be understood that 72.1 percent of the survey respondents were
opposed to any plan to separate community settlements along ethnic or religious
lines. Most victims wished to lead a heterogeneous existence as they had previously
experienced. Similarly, 67.9 percent of them voiced an objection to the building of
special schools for certain religions or ethnic groups.
In marital affairs, 83.8 percent of conflict victims even sanctioned marriages between
people of different ethnic groups. It was quite unexpected that they had reached such
an awareness of mutual forgiveness, despite their earlier involvement in ethnic attacks
and killings.
These findings imply that the conflict-stricken communities had the ability to awaken
and restore social cohesion once disrupted by communal clashes. The survey results
are also very different from the assumption made by some circles so far that with the
once protracted conflict, the public may be losing its confidence in the social
structure and also the government.
The high public awareness of the need to rise from the ruins of social collapse caused
by conflict should receive a positive response from the regional administration through
relevant programs.
Although there is a strong desire to achieve peaceful settlement, developments that
can trigger a recurrence of the conflict in society have to be watched out for.
In North Maluku, its religious identity and struggle for natural resources remain
important issues to be given due attention.
In the present more democratic and open era, regional administrations should be
capable of serving as modern bureaucratic institutions that operate professionally and
smartly, as public "managers" rather than "rulers". May peace pervade in this
resource-rich country.
The writer is the governor of North Maluku and is alumnus of the School of Social &
Political Sciences, Gadjah Mada University.
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