THE TRAGEDY OF MALUKU
By George J. Aditjondro, Ph.D.
(Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Newcastle Australia)
(Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Newcastle Australia)
Lecture and Seminar at the Institute of Aboriginal Studies and Research at Macquarie University in Sydney on May 2, 2000:
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The orgy of violence in Timor Lorosa'e (East Timor), last year, has reminded the world of the plight of the Melanesian peoples who live west of the 141st Meridian East. The standard belief is that a third of the pre-invasion 600,000 East Timorese people have died during the Indonesian occupation.
This is, unfortunately, only one part of the plight of the Western Melanesian, or "Indo-Melanesian" peoples who have lived under the wings of the Republic of Indonesia. Or, are still living under the Indonesian colonial yoke, which consist of three |
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other groups, namely (a) the West Papuan people who inhabit the western half of the island of New Guinea, which consists of abour 240 ethno-linguistic groups; (b). the Maluku (Moluccan) people, who inhabit the more or less thousand islands of Maluku (Moluccas), west of New Guinea, among whom there are distinctions between North Maluku, South Maluku, and Southeast Maluku; and (c). the Eastern Nusa Tenggara people, who inhabit the western part of the island of Timor and the adjacent island groups of Flores, Sumba, and the smaller islands off Flores, such as the traditional whaling island of Lembata.
Public knowledge of the plight of these Indo-Melanesian peoples is very limited, in Indonesia as well as abroad, for the following reasons. Firstly, according to standard anthropological knowledge, Melanesia (= the islands, or archipelago of the black-skinned peoples) end at the western tip of the island New Guinea. Secondly, the international community of nation-states, as represented by the United Nations, has only supported Timor Lorosa'e's claim to nationhood and had never accepted Indonesia's annexation of the former Portuguese colony. On the other hand, the annexation of West Papua by Indonesia in 1963 has been 'legalized' by the UN General Assembly when on September 21, 1962, it recognized the results of the so-called 'Act of Free Choice' in West Papua a month earlier.
The third reason is that the international community has religiously clung to two myths about the Indonesian nation-state. Firstly, the myth that Indonesia is the legitimate 'successor state' of the Dutch East Indies colony, and secondly, the myth that the Indonesian people -- with the exception of the Chinese ethnic minority -- is a homogenous nation, like Japan, for instance.
The first myth is supported by many Indonesian citizens as well as all nations which consists predominantly of people of European descent. Rejecting this 'successor state' myth may force many nation-states in the world to reject their own post-colonial boundaries, which may consequently force them to recognize the pre-invasion boundaries of all the indigenous political entities which have been brushed over by the European settlers and their descendants.
The irony of this 'successor state' myth is that many post-colonial nation-state in Asia and Latin America have broken down the existing colonial boundaries. Spain's American colonies do not consist of a single state with its capital somewhere in Bogota, but consists of dozens of independent yet Spanish-speaking (not Mayan or Incan speaking, sic!) nation-states.
Likewise in Asia, the former British colony of India now consists of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and, lest we forget, Burma. Its British counterpart in Southeast Asia consists of Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei Darussalam. In other words, the existence of the archipelagic republic of Indonesia which stretches from Sabang on the northern tip of Sumatra to Merauke near West Papua's border with Papua New Guinea, is certainly not a God given, natural construct. It is a historical construct and most probably, a historical mistake if its defenders are too stubborn to transform it into a more democratic construct, where all the ethno-linguistic groups and 'supra-tribal groups'(1) could live in harmony with each other with none dominating others.
Speaking about 'supra-tribal groups' we are touching on the second myth, namely that Indonesia is a homogenous nation(2), which is certainly incorrect. One can even say that apart from being multi-ethnic, Indonesia is also a multi-racial nation, if we classify the Melanesian peoples as belonging to a different race than the Malays.
Apart from the recent migrations of Arabic, Indian, Chinese and Europeans and whose ancestors have no geographical links with any place within the Nusantara archipelago, the Indonesian peoples basically consist of three 'supra-tribal groups' who migrated to this archipelago hundreds or thousands of years ago.
Public knowledge of the plight of these Indo-Melanesian peoples is very limited, in Indonesia as well as abroad, for the following reasons. Firstly, according to standard anthropological knowledge, Melanesia (= the islands, or archipelago of the black-skinned peoples) end at the western tip of the island New Guinea. Secondly, the international community of nation-states, as represented by the United Nations, has only supported Timor Lorosa'e's claim to nationhood and had never accepted Indonesia's annexation of the former Portuguese colony. On the other hand, the annexation of West Papua by Indonesia in 1963 has been 'legalized' by the UN General Assembly when on September 21, 1962, it recognized the results of the so-called 'Act of Free Choice' in West Papua a month earlier.
The third reason is that the international community has religiously clung to two myths about the Indonesian nation-state. Firstly, the myth that Indonesia is the legitimate 'successor state' of the Dutch East Indies colony, and secondly, the myth that the Indonesian people -- with the exception of the Chinese ethnic minority -- is a homogenous nation, like Japan, for instance.
The first myth is supported by many Indonesian citizens as well as all nations which consists predominantly of people of European descent. Rejecting this 'successor state' myth may force many nation-states in the world to reject their own post-colonial boundaries, which may consequently force them to recognize the pre-invasion boundaries of all the indigenous political entities which have been brushed over by the European settlers and their descendants.
The irony of this 'successor state' myth is that many post-colonial nation-state in Asia and Latin America have broken down the existing colonial boundaries. Spain's American colonies do not consist of a single state with its capital somewhere in Bogota, but consists of dozens of independent yet Spanish-speaking (not Mayan or Incan speaking, sic!) nation-states.
Likewise in Asia, the former British colony of India now consists of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and, lest we forget, Burma. Its British counterpart in Southeast Asia consists of Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei Darussalam. In other words, the existence of the archipelagic republic of Indonesia which stretches from Sabang on the northern tip of Sumatra to Merauke near West Papua's border with Papua New Guinea, is certainly not a God given, natural construct. It is a historical construct and most probably, a historical mistake if its defenders are too stubborn to transform it into a more democratic construct, where all the ethno-linguistic groups and 'supra-tribal groups'(1) could live in harmony with each other with none dominating others.
Speaking about 'supra-tribal groups' we are touching on the second myth, namely that Indonesia is a homogenous nation(2), which is certainly incorrect. One can even say that apart from being multi-ethnic, Indonesia is also a multi-racial nation, if we classify the Melanesian peoples as belonging to a different race than the Malays.
Apart from the recent migrations of Arabic, Indian, Chinese and Europeans and whose ancestors have no geographical links with any place within the Nusantara archipelago, the Indonesian peoples basically consist of three 'supra-tribal groups' who migrated to this archipelago hundreds or thousands of years ago.
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The first 'supra-tribal group' are the Melanesian peoples, to be followed by Proto-Malay, and finally came Deutero-Malay peoples who linguistically, belong to the Polynesian 'race'. The waves of Malay migrations have pushed the Melanesian people more and more to Eastern Indonesia, from where they eventually migrated to the South Pacific. In Eastern Indonesia itself, inter-marriages of Malay migrants with the indigenous Melanesian peoples have resulted in the Maluku,
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