large multiethnic state, Indonesia, like Yugoslavia, served
a vital US purpose during the Cold War. A strong, independent
Yugoslavia was supposed to give Moscow headaches in Eastern
Europe. And a strong, united Indonesia was supposed to halt
the fall of the Communist dominoes in Asia. "Indonesia
is the anchor in that chain of islands stretching from Hokkaido
to Sumatra which we should develop as a politico-economic
counter-force to Communism on the Asiatic land mass and
as base areas from which…we could with our air and sea power
dominate continental East Asia and South Asia," wrote
George Kennan in 1948 while he was head of the Policy Planning
Staff of the State Department. Moreover, Indonesia is located
along the strategic sea-lane linking the Indian and Pacific
Oceans. Oil supplies from the Persian Gulf pass through
the Straits of Malacca as well as Asia’s exports to Europe.
moment the Soviet Union fell the two countries ceased to
be of use to the United States. From trying to strengthen
Yugoslavia, Washington went overnight to supporting its
dissolution. From hailing President Suharto as the savior
of Southeast Asia, Washington went overnight to conspiring
to topple him. Our Yugoslavia policy yielded rich dividends.
The tiny successor-states easily fell under the sway of
Washington and proved compliant with the wishes of the multinational
corporations and the US-dominated agencies like the IMF
or the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
(ICTY). The United States obviously hopes that the mineral-rich
successor-states to Indonesia follow the same route. In
addition, the break up of the world’s fourth largest nation
will help weaken any Asian alliance directed against the
be sure, the Indonesian nation has always been more fiction
than reality. It is the successor state to the Dutch East
Indies, which was nothing more than the name for the thousands
of islands in the colonial possession of the Netherlands.
The inhabitants differ by ethnicity and religion. They speak
580 different languages. Though the official language is
Bahasa Indonesian a modified form of Malay only some seven
million speak it, compared to 70 million who speak Javanese,
25 million who speak Sundanese, 10 million who speak Malay
and 9 million who speak Madurese. Indonesia proclaimed itself
an independent state in 1950. However, armed opposition
to rule from Jakarta went on for years. The independent
republic of the South Moluccas had been suppressed in 1949.
Separatist movements in Sumatra almost toppled the regime
of Sukarno, Indonesia’s first ruler.
Sunday a congress of about 3,000 pro-independence delegates
unanimously called on the outside world to recognize West
Papua as a sovereign state. It claimed that the territory
had never been legally integrated into Indonesia: "Indonesia
must recognize the sovereignty of West Papua, based on historical,
cultural, ethnic and religious rights." The Papuan
People’s Congress has a point. In May 1963, after years
of agitation, Indonesia took over West New Guinea (as it
was then known) from the Dutch. The Papuans and Melanesians
who inhabit Western Papua are the same Papuans and Melanesians
who inhabit the eastern part of the island the independent
state of Papua New Guinea. The last the thing they ever
wanted was to be ruled by Indonesia’s Javanese elite. In
1963, the Dutch handed the territory over the territory
to the United Nations. Indonesia would assume responsibility
for the administration under UN auspices and a plebiscite
would be held in 1969 to determine whether the local population
wished to belong to Indonesia or not. But there was no plebiscite.
Instead, Indonesia handpicked a delegation of Papuan chiefs
and headmen who gave a 100 percent vote in support of remaining
month, the Indonesian Government signed a ceasefire agreement
in Geneva with secessionist Free Aceh Movement (GAM). Their
"Memorandum of Understanding" proposes a three-month
"humanitarian pause" in the hostilities. Currently
Jakarta rejects the idea of holding a referendum on secession.
President Abdurrahman Wahid has also put forward an autonomy
plan, according to which the province would enjoy 75 percent
of oil and natural gas revenues derived from the territory
as well as the right to impose Islamic law. In return, Aceh
gives up any idea of secession. Very little chance of that.
contains the Arun gas field one of Asia’s largest which
is operated by a local subsidiary of ExxonMobil. Gas from
this field represents about 30 percent of Indonesia’s total
gas production. Aceh supplies about one-third of Indonesia's
liquefied natural gas exports and 20 percent of total oil
and gas exports. Aceh also has gold, silver, rubber and
timber. The hideous harridan came out strongly in support
of the May 12 agreement. It was "a genuine act of political
courage on both sides." However, she went on, it was
only a first step. She wanted to see "a comprehensive
political settlement which addresses the core grievances
which have [aggravated] conflict in the province."
Hardly a vote of support for the sovereignty of Indonesia.
in neighboring Riau, in north-central Sumatra, the US oil
company, Caltex Pacific Indonesia and Indonesia’s state
oil company Pertamina have been negotiating for months over
a share-splitting deal for the Coastal Plain Pekanbaru oil
field. Caltex, a joint venture of Chevron and Texaco, want
half. Pertamina wants 65 percent. Caltex then announced
its support for the Riau government’s plan to take over
the field from the company. Riau supplies more than half
of Indonesia’s oil.
Abdurrahman Wahid is in fragile health. He is diabetic,
has a bad heart and is virtually blind as a result of a
near fatal stroke two years ago. He lives under constant
medical supervision. He is seen as weak and has only just
barely avoided an impeachment vote. He is on his way to
the United States desperately to seek US economic aid and
support for a proposed crackdown on the secessionist movements.
He will get neither. Madeleine Albright recently announced
an increase in annual aid to Indonesia from $93.5 million
to $125 million. Such a sum is a pittance. Compare that
to the proposed $1.7 billion package for Colombia.