Secessionist (Centre-Regional) Conflicts

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the four regions (Aceh, Papua, Riau and East Kalimantan, see the map in Figure 3.1),1 which have articulated different degrees of secessionist aspirations. They share a similar characteristic of being richly endowed with natural resources. The resource and conflict characteristics of the regions are summarized in Table 3.1. Political secessionist movements complemented with organized rebel wings were clearly present in Aceh and Papua. They are categorized as having high and medium levels of secessionist conflict respectively. The story was different in Riau and East Kalimantan; they showed only minor secessionist sentiments when the central government was weak, in the early phase of the democratic transition. A number of studies, mainly from political and historical perspectives, have explained individual cases of secessionist conflicts in Aceh and Papua.2 However, a coherent explanation of all cases of secessionist conflict in Indonesia is relatively scant. This chapter will fill this gap by offering a coherent political-economy explanation of centre-region (secessionist) conflicts in the four resource-rich regions.