Kalimantan: Indonesia's recurring nightmare

Hundreds of refugees are waiting to be evacuated from Kalimantan

In this story: New boundaries Devolvement of power RELATED STORIES, SITES

By Atika Shubert
CNN Correspondent

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- For many Indonesians, the latest round of violence in Central Kalimantan is just another variation of a recurring nightmare -- communal tensions boil over, unchecked by Indonesia's demoralized security forces.

But taking a closer look at the incident reveals a new twist. Kalimantan's ethnic tensions are still a powder keg, but it seems the fuse was lit by the government's ambitious plan for decentralization.

Indonesian police suspect two disgruntled local officials of instigating the violence, apparently unhappy with their place in the administrative reshuffle required under decentralization.

Police say there is enough evidence to suggest the suspects were connected to the murder of a Madurese family. They say this event triggered a vicious cycle of revenge killings that has left more than 400 people dead.

New boundaries

This wouldn't be the first time a quarrel between Indonesia's civil servants turned to bloodshed. Part of the central government's decentralization plans included the redrawing of regional boundaries in Sulawesi and the North Maluku islands, creating new government posts, coveted for their political influence.

Competition over the top jobs prompted rival candidates to mobilize mobs of supporters, divided along religious lines. The result was two full-blown religious conflicts, Muslims versus Christians.

In all these cases, Indonesia's security forces were overwhelmed by the violence. In Sulawesi and North Maluku, military chiefs have admitted that rogue officers have taken sides in the conflict.

All of this leads to the question: Is Indonesia ready for decentralization? Former president Suharto used the military to keep a tight lid on ethnic and religious differences in the regions. The current government has inherited the same problems but not Suharto's repressive tools for dealing with them.

Devolvement of power

Instead, the government is offering to devolve power from the center to the regions, hoping local administrations will be able to solve these problems for themselves. Indonesia's parliament has already ratified the formation of several new provinces and there are more in the queue.

Indonesia's security forces, however, are not quite up to speed. Infighting among high-ranking officers and accusations of human rights abuses have demoralized the military, discouraging officers from taking any effective action.

Instead, they hand responsibility over to Indonesia's inexperienced police force, only recently divorced from the military. The result is haphazard policy by Indonesia's security forces, relying more on the inconsistent competence of individual officers in the field rather than the effectiveness of the institution.

Despite the high death toll and grisly tales of beheadings, Central Kalimantan is relatively lucky. It is not suffering the same fate as the Maluku islands, now mired in an intractable civil war between Christian and Muslim neighbors that has claimed more than 4000 lives. The violence in Central Kalimantan is abating and the killing has not spread.

This does not mean the worst is over. Indonesia risks seeing more violence in the regions, as long as grievances are not addressed and the country's security apparatus remains weak.

See related sites about Asia

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.