Memo #20
By: Abidin Kusno
Violence is becoming more frequent in Indonesia and is taking on new forms. There have been attacks by the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) against Christian churches in greater Jakarta over the past two years. This has raised concerns about the future of democracy and religious tolerance in Indonesia. Large Islamic organizations, especially Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama, have deplored these acts of violence conducted in the name of religion. Major metropolitan newspapers are reporting that many Jakarta residents have called for the FPI to be banned even while recognizing that this could further radicalize members of the organization.
The role of the FPI is more complicated than it appears as news stories in Jakarta reveal. While attackers are associated with the FPI, it is not clear that they have been acting on the FPI leadership’s instructions. The FPI is believed to have fractured into smaller groups of vigilantes that operate independently. These smaller groups claim to operate under the FPI banner. But they are for hire by government authorities and local communities in the pursuit of specific interests.
The use of vigilantes and militias by the authorities has roots in President Suharto’s era and colonial Java. Political elites have a long history of harnessing paramilitary groups for political coercion. The difference today is that the Indonesian government fears these groups. As a result, the current response is to form alliances with vigilante organizations in the name of “public security.” This practice is echoed in the ubiquity of private security guards for community policing purposes.
While reliance on private forces does not brand Indonesia a failed state, it does suggest a different kind of state. It is a state that has relinquished its monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force. The state has celebrated this practice as an expression of Indonesian tradition, but it may be equally motivated by the desire to externalize costs for the provision of public security. This privatization of security is not proving to be effective and represents a potential threat to democratic institutions in Indonesia.
About the Author:
Abidin Kusno is a CRC Chair in Asian Urbanism and Culture, Institute of Asian Research, The University of British Columbia.
Related Memos:
- Our other Memos about Indonesia and Southeast Asia