<nettime> Some notes from a tourist in 'Indonesia'

[s-a-m = remote = <sam@media.com.au>]

SOME NOTES FROM A TOURIST IN 'INDONESIA'
(by sam : un-edited)

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 27, 2001

It is dusk time and prayers are coming out of the local mosque. I am in 
Bukittinggi, in West Sumatra, Indonesia. Located in the mountains, this town is 
configured for tourists, with many cafes and hotels catering to what tourists 
are supposed to want.

But there aren't many tourists here. I ask one the people at the café I am at 
why this is the case. He blames the WTC attacks and goes on to add "they are 
sweeping for Americans in Java", pointing towards a copy of the Jakarta Post, 
Indonesia's daily English newspaper.

Indonesia is a collection of over 13,000 islands. Java has the highest 
concentration of people and  is the home to the largest cities including 
Jakarta, which is country's capital. Sumatra is the 8th largest island in the 
world and is located north-west of Java. To the north is Kalimantan and towards 
the east are Sulawesi, Bali, East and West Timor and West Papua (Irian Jaya). 
There is a huge variety of cultures and ways of life throughout Indonesia and 
it is the world's largest Muslin country - a fact which may be well known to 
the rest of the world by now.

The Jakarta Post edition here at the café is dated September 26 and its lead 
story describes the "sweeping" that has been happening. According to the 
article, militant groups in the Central Java town of Surakarta (also known as 
Solo) searched the major hotels for Americans. Leaders of the town however 
dismissed the groups as a minority and not representative of the overall 
population. The article goes on to mention that there have been anti-US 
protests in many cities around the country. These protests won't be encouraging 
to foreigners or to the US  Government, and apparently the police have not 
taken any serious actions to stop them claiming "in this era of democracy, 
people are free to voice their opinions".

Another story on the front page says that Indonesia's top Islamic authority 
condemns the September 11 attacks on the US but also "denounces what it termed 
the arrogance of America for its planned aggression on Afghanistan". The 
article goes on: the authority had said  the attacks on the US were "in 
violation of Islamic values that underlined the need to forge love among human 
beings and stressed humanity and peace." Indonesian President Megawati has also 
warned President Bush not to attack any country in the pursuit of terrorists.

A few days ago I was in Aceh, North Sumatra. Travelling in to the capital Banda 
Aceh from the airport, the taxi driver pointed out a group of soldiers walking 
down the street. "They are sweeping", he commented.  For what I wanted to know -
 but I don't know the local language so it wasn't possible to get further 
details. And it would have been inappropriate for a tourist to be too curious.

In Aceh, there is an armed struggle to become independent of Indonesia and in 
recent years, many thousands of people have been killed. But moving around 
Banda Aceh, it is hard to believe a guerilla-style war is being waged in that 
region. 

I asked an Acehnese I met what he thought of the situation in the region. "We 
want it to be peaceful", he replied. He went on to say that the fighting should 
be contained between the GAM (armed Free Aceh Movement) and the army - but the 
GAM are not easily identifiable so a lot of people are killed. However, he said 
he felt that Acehnese aren't being treated fairly by the Indonesian Government. 
Aceh is very resource rich but a majority of the profits don't flow back to its 
people. 

There was a very strong sense of culture in Aceh and I found that its people 
reminded me a lot of the East Timorese -  friendly, considerate and proud. The 
Acehnese, like many throughout Indonesia are strict Muslims, though this does 
not mean they are conservative, extremist or violent.  Maybe having a strong 
framework of belief is important to absorb and adapt to change in a way which 
is empowering rather than being overwhelmed and manipulated by it.

When I was heading back to the airport in Aceh to continue my travels, I got in 
to a broken-English conversation with the taxi driver. After a few minutes, he 
grinned at me and said "I think you are bin Laden". Not knowing how to respond, 
I accused him back - "No, I think you are bin Laden". We both laughed.

Since I arrived in Indonesia a few days after the WMC attacks, there have been 
rumors than Osama bin Laden is in Indonesia. Maybe he is, but either way, I 
have a feeling that the US has already identified Islamic militant groups it 
wants to disband. 

When I was in Jakarta I asked people I came across what they thought of the 
attacks in the US.  I was surprised with the open support many people 
expressed. "Good good" they would say with their thumbs up, grinning defiantly. 
Maybe their response was aimed at teasing me - but I did not sense much 
emotional shock to what happened in New York. Indonesians are familiar with 
conflict and live constantly under conditions are tension and violence. To the 
people I spoke with, I sensed indifference, even a feeling that America had 
this coming. Maybe for them, it is just another explosion where people are 
killed. And just because it is in New York, why should it be so important. But 
this is only my impression based on a few conversations during a very brief 
period, and thorough research would be required to obtain a more conclusive 
idea of the attitude of Indonesians towards the September 11 incident.

I wander what will happen if the US does attack Afghanistan or makes a 
strategic attack on militant groups here in Indonesia. I doubt if there will be 
much support here by the people and if things become violent, all Indonesians 
will probably be stereotyped as Islamic extremists.


THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2001

Today's Jakarta Post reports that the US Government "has warned its citizens to 
defer travel to Indonesia and allowed all its non essential personnel to leave 
the country". The paper also reports that there has been a protest outside the 
US Embassy involving 2000 people. The US flag and an effigy of George W Bush 
labeled "The Big Bandit" was burnt.

There are many articles related to the attack on the US and most of them seem 
to reinforce a view that it would be unwise for the US to attack Afghanistan.  

The editorial in the paper however focuses on the Microsoft piracy case where a 
the West Jakarta District Court has ordered "an Indonesian company to pay 
Microsoft Corporation a sum total of US$4.4 million for installing Microsoft 
software in computers it sold to consumers without a license. The editorial 
goes on to suggest that "it certainly would help if Microsoft and other giant 
enterprises like it could introduce special prices to make their products more 
affordable to people in the developing world.

Here in Bukittinggi, children are heading home from school, laughing and 
playing as they walk along the street. I don't think bin Laden, George W Bush 
or Microsoft are on their minds.

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