How many seperatist groups are there in Indonesia & what is the hope of a continued Unify for indonesia, a place so fast and full of different and diverse cultures. Do you indonesian see yourselfs as a common malayan ppl and acknowledge your languages as related etc? well there are also melanesians in the east tho right?

There are two separatist group in Aceh province (GAM) and Papua province (OPM).
Together, both provinces contribute to around 2% of the total population.

The more serious threat is the GAM, but their influence has been waning since the military offensive in 2003.
Back in 1999-2002, the rebels were a serious security menace in Aceh province and were able even to gain influence in the towns. Since 2003, their influence is limited only to the most remote areas. Their existance is limited to around 50% of Aceh since the other half of the province is mainly inhabited by non-Acehnese ethnic groups (Gayo, Alas, Tamiang, Singkil, etc).

On the OPM, never heard from them for years now, I read somewhere that most of them lived in the PNG side of the border. Although there are still separatist sentiment in Papua, mainly because of transmigration program in which non-Papuans are settled in Papua (eg 60% of population of Jayapura, the provincial capital, are non-Papuans). It's Melanesian-Malay racial stuff..
However, politically and security-wise, Indonesia has total effective control over the whole province.

Of hope for the future, I'm very optimistic of the longetivity of Indonesia. Since the regional autonomy (otonomi daerah) kicked off in 2001, Indonesia has become one of the most decentralized country in the world. Most of those calling for separatism right after fall of Suharto are now vociferously supporting the regional autonomy.

As a result, separatism is so weak that it hardly attracts local media attention nowadays (unlike the foreign media).

According to a survey, only 4% of voters considers separatism is an election issue.. As Indonesia stabilises and recovered from the fall of Suharto, I think separatism will be weaker and weaker..




I don't think Indonesians generally think much about the Malay race stuff. Many remembers how fellow Malaysia treated Indonesian illegal workers like animals when expelling them in 2002. Many starved or were beaten to death.

Indonesia have the MABBIM (Majelis Bahasa Brunei, Indonesia, dan Malaysia) who coordinate the development of Malay language common in three countries. I don't think we have something similiar with Philippines as our languages are quite different, you see..


Yeap, Indonesia has the largest Melanesian population in the world.

oh what about the situation in malaku arcihpelago and christian/muslim relations? that is what is the contraversy there right? is it being settle, maybe the philippines can learn if it is succesful. i hope philippines learns how to handle sucesfully sepratatists and make unity a favorable thing to want.

Since the Malino Peace Accord I in 2002 brokered by vice-presidential candidate Jusuf Kalla, the situation in Maluku archipelago have been gradually turning peaceful.

Nowadays, the Malukus is peaceful and security is under control. The harmful element Laskar Jihad has disbanded itself in October 2002, while there military and police has continuously received surrender of arms and weapons.

The city of Ambon is still partially segregated along religious lines, due to painful memories from the conflict time 1999-2002. However, since the peace accord, people from both faiths has had increasing rate of interaction through trade and commerce, and multifaith schools are appearing once more. Reconciliation and full desegregation is still some way off, but Ambon is heading the right way.

In the rest of Malukus outside Ambon, the situation has mostly returned to normal. In most areas, presence of extra security forces is no longer needed.

In Poso, Central Sulawesi, there are still the occasional unemployed diehard jihadist who had had military training in Mindanao (Southern Philippines) who tried to provoke new violence by exploding homemade bomblets, shooting dead individuals of the opposite faith, or opening fire on churches. However, these small isolated incidents never succeeded in provoking another upheaval.

This is because most Muslims and Christians are sick of conflict, and because of the presence of a more disciplined military and police who do go after these provocateurs and actually caught or killed many of them. They also prevented possiblity of more serious outrages that might inflame the situation again.

In the rest of Indonesia, Christian-Muslim relations can be described as cordial and there is no real problem to speak of. Remember, there are 30 million Christians in Indonesia, nearly all of whom leave in peace with their Muslim neighbors.

In Maluku or Poso, I think time and security vigilance will return Muslim-Christian relations back to harmony in quite a short time. Who would imagine in just three years the former "hell on earth" can be restored back to a general peace and tranquility?

How many decades does it take to get the Catholic and Protestants away from each other's throats in Northern Ireland?

VERY VERY VERY IMPRESSIVE! IS THERE ANY FILIPINO-INDONESIAN RELATIONS ON HOW TO SOLVE SEPERATISTS GROUPS IN BOTH COUNTRIES... WHAT ARE THE RELATIONS BETWEEEN INDONESIA AND PHILIPPINES?

Yes, dalawapo
Indonesia facilitated peace talks between Filipino govt and the main Muslim separatist group MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front), culminating in the Jakarta Accord in 1996 that created the ARMM (Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao) with Nur Misuari as its head. At the time, Indonesia also send military observers to Mindanao to help monitor the peace process.

Unfortunately, the breakway faction MILF persists in armed insurgency until now. I think Malaysia is now leading the peace mediation between GRP and MILF.

Philippines also send military observers during a short-lived truce with GAM in Aceh.

I read somewhere that back in 1987, the 3rd ASEAN Summit scheduled to be held in Manila was nearly cancelled because of threat of military coups and NPA attack. However, to show Indonesian support to the new government of Cory Aquino, President Suharto decided to send military special forces to safeguard the summit and also a warship in Manila Bay in case evacuation is needed. This ensures the summit was not cancelled.

I think Indonesia should play all constructive role it can play to solve the separatist conflict in Mindanao because the island is becoming a den for Al-Qaeda franchisee JI who pose a terrorist threat to the whole Southeast Asia.



There is no problem between Philippines and Indonesia. Both countries as fellow ASEAN members has always been close 'mates', a relation we should keep in the future

oh that is great to hear! i believe one of the filipino forum posters said that Malaysia is funding arms to mindanao inssurectionist... is this true??

not sure about this you may need to rise this question into malaysian forum.
my understanding root of mindanao/moro rebel caused by moro assumption they are not part of philipine since they are never conquered by spain unlikeother region of philipine and also moro assume themself as malay but catholic philipine initially assume themself as mestizo this view change a bit in philipine community.
parallel case happened in indonesia into acheh case, achehnese feel they are not part of indonesia since they are never conquered by dutch so acheh until now think thay are not part of indonesia, i don't blame them for this.
news telling us there are a lot of case gun smuggling into achenese from outsider? do we indonesian blame somebody else?

i think we should stick together and remember we ar brothers first before religious difference and to succeed we need unity! i wish the moro feel they are treated better and wish to stay part of the philippine nation, they are a very intergral part of the culture of the philippines among the richest like the indigenous mountain tribes of luzon who were also unconquerable! i hope really there is a bayanihan spirit of comradery!

i agree with you we should stick together, the question is, it is needed to be one country to be peace and unity? if some people does not want to be in one country do we need to hammer them? and we know eventhough we hammer them they will always keep say no.

indeed i agree we need unity among us but it does not mean to be all austronesia race have to be in one country.
we have a lot of good example here malaysia, singapore & brunei they are different country now which indonesia wish few decade ago (politic confrontation of soekarno) part of indonesia and they are now much doing well compare to indonesia and philipine in term economic progression.

europe become more unite, make progression, has mutualistic relationship and compete in good way one another eventhough they are not one country.

If seperatists were to be successful, in my own opinon, i think it would be so ugly to see a million independent nations of what used to be Philippines & Indonesia, why? because it will seem as though we are too childish to acknowledge that our brothers within our present day borders has merely adopted a different foreign culture/religion than us and we can not co-exist with them... And it would seem that we have totally abandon our native Austronesian culture which promotes the very concepts of brotherhood. It would seem as though we have forgotten our very native element. I believe both our nations have the means to establish brotherhood among our countries citizens, we just need to cultivate it!

i think if the philippines continue to promote equal representation of the vaarious cultures in my country as merely the different aspects and faces of the country such as through the concept of the Spirit of Bayanihan (comradery, unity) and the Indonesian continue to promote the same through your concepts… Pancasila, or what have you, then both our countries can still remain entact through acknowledgement of the diversity in bouth our countries and respect for all & a desire to co-exist as a strong united ppl! We will enrich our National identities, we as Filipinos and you as Indonesians, Not take away from it.

Does the RMS (Republik Maluku Selatan) still exists??

Dalawapo are you only speaking for the indegiounous people. Because I get an feeling that you dislike us Spanish influence Christian filipinos who make up the majority of the Philippines by the way.

I wish this place went back to either Buddhism or Hinduism.

Hinduism!!!!! thats coo,l i want to be a practioner of the Kali faith! i want to pray to a woman hehe

Hinduism is the one who applicated Kasta right?? (The social class)