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Lombok Unrest: Description and Analysis by John M. MacDougall, Jr. [Ph.D. candidate from Princeton, University, Dept. of Anthropology. He is not related to John MacDougall "Apa Kabar."] written on January 19, 2000 Preface: The description and analysis below is a rough draft to be used as fuel for thought and not for heavy quotation. The information regarding the militia leader, [name deleted] should never be linked to me as its source. I still have to carry out research in NTB and would like to keep my skin while I do so. The information below is based on interviews and newspaper research carried out from May 1999 - January 18 2000 when I left Lombok with the those wealthy or lucky enough to evacuate on the only running form of transport, the Bounty ferry. Otherwise, the roads were blocked with rioters. When I first began my research at the outset of the monetary crisis in 1998, there were constant rumors that the masses from central and eastern Lombok were going to attack and loot the economic centers of Lombok in Mataram and Ampenan. The general complaint was that shopholders were stocking goods in order to raise the price of goods and create an unnatural form of regional inflation. This is just one of the inter-regional economic tensions which contributed to the mass mobilization of the Sasak Muslims over the last couple of days. John M. MacDougall Doctoral Candidate in Anthropology at Princeton University Based in North Lombok By January 15, Saturday, friends in my research area in North Lombok were already warning me that a large demonstration of Sasak Muslims were preparing to gather in the Public Arena of downtown Mataram. How did they know, I asked. Apparently besides circulation by word of mouth, a flyer decrying the death of Indonesian Muslims in Maluku and demanding a greater display of protest among fellow Muslims was distributed throughout the week prior to the violence which persists in Mataram and other areas of Lombok today. By Sunday afternoon, January 16th, trucks full of young men from North, Central and Eastern Lombok began collecting around the city of Mataram. Although friends did not mention that there would be violence in Mataram, they pressed me to stay with them in the village until the "demonstration" blew over. At 11:00 a.m. Monday, the violence began. After the Apel Achbar, a large gathering of Muslim youth rallied from all over Lombok had gathered in Central Mataram. A charismatic Islamic preacher from Kediri [name withheld] presided over the gathering. Although the preachers' words were "arousing" (merangsang) they were not the sole impetus behind the destruction of the Christian churches, communities and economic centres in Lombok. Unfortunately, the recent media focus on Jakarta has made our understanding of collective violence of Indonesia rather short-sighted and shallow. The "rakyat" are perceived as an easily mobilized and "quick to rouse" mass capable of large-scale destruction and killings which otherwise betray their cultural or religious attitudes and convictions. Even if the match responsible for igniting existing local tensions may hail from Jakarta, the expressions they take, the strategies deployed to effect the violence are immediate to the political, religious and economic tensions of the region. Such was the case in Lombok. Within an hours time, five churches were in flames in downtown Mataram. Only an hour later two more churches in Ampenan were burning. The question one asks is, "How did random violence become so organized in such a short span of time." To answer this question one needs to look into the last six months leading up to these last two days of violence. These groups were organized far prior to the destruction in Mataram only the end of their organization was not to destroy churches or antagonize Christians, it was to wage a war against crime, or more specifically, to hunt down criminals in Lombok. The general Indonesian term for these organizations such as these is PAMSWAKARSA. Crime-Control groups (PAMSWAKARSA) have sprung up throughout Indonesia due to the lack of initiative on the part of the police and armed forces to control theft and drug trafficing activity. Accusations and proof of police complicity in the circulation of drugs and stolen goods, especially in Lombok, further enhanced the sense of helplessness felt by victims of crime. In some cases, such as in Central Lombok, the people expressed their frustration through direct violence against the police. In July of last year, two police officers were killed and a police station was burned as a result of public suspicion that the police were in cohorts with the criminals of the region. CRIME CONTROL GROUPS IN LOMBOK The two largest PAMSWAKARSA groups in Lombok are Bujak (Pemburu Jejak: Tracker) and Ampibi (as in amphibious, protect the people on land or sea) . Central Lombok and Eastern Lombok have always been famous for their crime. In the village of Kebon Jeruk, Central Lombok, for example, a young woman told me, "If my husband can't prove to be a successful thief, how will he support our family?" As in many areas of the world expertise at theivery not only displays cunning but also a knowledge in the mystical sciences or "ilmu" of invulnerability to violence, hypnotism and communication with the unseen world. In the early 1990's crime rings such as Kebon Jeruk usually confined to the theft of livestock expanded their network to inter-island laundering of stolen goods. By 1993, motorcycle and television theft was on the rise as these prized goods became available to rural peasants willing to slave away abroad through wage labor abroad in Malaysia, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia. Increased theft of household (as opposed to field-stock) goods increased the level of violence needed to secure them. Due to the rise of violent crime in the region, a group of youth and, according to many sources, ex-criminals took it upon themselves to organize a crime control and stolen goods retrieval service. This group's name was BUJAK, or tracker. Based in the village of Ubung, sub-district Jonggat, Central Lombok, BUJAK guaranteed safety from crime and if goods were stolen, they would return the stolen goods. For a fee from local residences, BUJAK placed stickers on their clientele's residences and patrolled the area to keep it free from crime. If criminals were caught in the act, they would be killed or surrendered to the police. Although BUJAK tended to work with the police, increasing accusations of intentional theft on the part of BUJAK with the intention of securing the bounty from the returned stolen goods forced the Police to outlaw BUJAK's activities in 1995. After BUJAK was disbanded, criminal activity increased as before. In late 1997, there was a dramatic increase in crime due to the economic crisis and failed harvests. Many of these crimes became more violent as the price of valuable goods (T.V.'s, motorbikes etc) rose. Increasing reports of rape and homicide accompanied crimes of theft, especially in the most economically depressed regions of Central and East Lombok. In 1997, BUJAK went into service again and, according to many, had continued their activities despite pressure from PEMDA (local government). Because of "preman-like" (thuggish) demeanor of BUJAK, its centralization in Central Lombok and the absence of moral or religious leadership in the organization, another group arose in East Lombok, AMFIBI. Under the moral leadership of Tuan Guru Haji Sibawali, AMPIBI swelled in numbers. When I asked one streetwise youth from Central Lombok what the difference was between BUJAK and AMPIBI, he said, "BUJAK uses kids like me, AMPIBI members are the kind of good muslims who pray five times a day, study the KORAN and the esoteric Islam, they are really powerful." With the moral leadership of Nadhatul Watan (The largest muslim organization in NTB based in Panjor) in fragments after the death (1997) of its founder/leader Tuan Guru Haji Abdul Majid, leaders such as Tuan Guru Haji Silawali of Jero Waru, East Lombok have emerged as independent religious leaders with large mass followings. As one might imagine, the public had long lost it's faith in the police's ability to control crime. "A large bribe to a corrupt officer was no guarantee that the stolen property will be retrieved by police involved in its laundering," said Said of Lombok Tengah during an interview in November 1999. Increasing incidents of people taking the law into their own hands by killing renowned criminals created only greater fear that retrobutive violence from the criminal's family would only add terror to desperation. In Janpriye Central Lombok, the populace torched the police station as an act of rage against their complacency , and rumored complicity, towards criminal activity. After the general elections in 1999, the AMPIBI and BUJAK memberships swelled to 60,000. By August the figures were already at 120,000 with several other regional groups, such as Palang Merah in South Lombok, forming across a kindred motif. Unlike Bujak, however, Ampibi members carry out their tasks for free. Only, to become a member of those protected from criminality, one must pay 120,000 rupiah per member. Each patrol group (thirty men strong) receives a walkie talkie allowing for close cooperation between members and quick mobilization against criminals. Although Ampibi is less monitarily motivated than Bujak, if a criminal does not surrender on sight, they are killed and often decapitated. The head, it is rumored, is carried to their headquarters in Jero Waru. In August of 1999, increasing tensions between Bujak and Ampibi became apparent as criminals fled from East to Central Lombok, or Central to East Lombok. In the line of duty, the bounderies between the organizations respective territories were often crossed and caused conflicts between the two groups. In early August 1999, these two groups engaged in armed conflict on the border between Central and East Lombok. Apparently, the incident was instigated by a single man paid by an unknown source who wished to destabilize these two groups before their power increased to policial proportions. The provocator, once identified, was assasinated without trial. After the incident was clarified and peace was made between the two organizations, they joined forces and grew to the numbers now reported to be over 220,000 strong. With such a strong membership, religious backing and outstanding popular support, the police and local government have been forced to comply and support the organizations in every step of their development since August 1999. Hundreds of criminals, purported or real, have been killed by Ampibi and Bujak in their patrolling activities. Up until December 1999, the majority of Ampibi and Bujak's activities were carried out in Central and Eastern Lombok. Ironically, on December 23rd, the same day of the Perang Ketopat (ritual battle between Hindu-Balinese and Sasak Muslims held at the Hindu-Muslim temple, Lingsar) trucks full of Ampibi members pulled into the Balinese community of Cakra, Mataram in search of a Balinese stolen goods launderer, I Gusti?. When they spoke to his family in Cakra, he wasn't at home and, after a verbal exchange with the accused uncle they killed the uncle and cut off the uncle's wife's arm who attempted to save her husband from death. Outrage from the Hindu-Balinese community was quelled somewhat by a meeting between Hindu leaders and Ampibi at the governor's office in late December. According to all sources interviewed, Ampibi members are so "brave" (berani) because after their initiation into the organization they are given special orange jumpers inscribed with mystically charged Arabic characters meant to protect the member from all weaponry and give them unlimited bravery and stamina. This sense of invulnerability and moral certainty among Ampibiresidents is what worries so many non-Muslim, or even West Lombok, citizens. So, when the violence broke out on Monday, January 17th in downtown Mataram very few Lombok residents were surprised at the organized quality of the mob. Put simply, it was not a mob, it was a well honed surveillance organization trained by months of hunting some of the best criminals in Indonesia. After the Apel Achbar on Monday, 1999, the groups divided into groups of two and three hundred. Regional coordination allowed for group members to keep track of one another and assure that they would have a ride home before reenforcements replaced them. For instance, Bayan members stuck together and attacked a church whereas other sub-districts would be directed to a housing complex in Ampenan or the main church on Jalan Proklamisi in Mataram. Those who joined along with the mob were lead by a team already certain of their targets. Several members wore shirts with their village identity written on the back to facilitate coordination between regional groups. Regional Tensions While it is not all that clear why these groups did not just burn the ten churches and go home, or why they planned such a coordinated form of destruction wiping out the economic sector of Ampenan, and, reportedly tonight, the bedrock of tourism investment in Senggigi, West Lombok, whoever is behind it picked the right groups to work through. While the violence unfolded I was able to speak with several friends both in Mataram and the villages on the outskirts of Mataram about why such a concerted effort had been deployed for such a small population of Christians. They replied, "It is more regional than anything else. For one thing, the economic sector, tourism, the Goldmine empire of Newmont, and development has favored West Lombok over the more impoverished areas of Central and East Lombok. Central and East Lombok residents are infuriated that they cannot gain access to the riches of these industries be it through jobs or just money. They are angry at the disparity between western residents and east-central residents in a way that does not seek a logical resolution. They want to flatten (meratakan) the class hierarchy. The only way they can do that is by total destruction of the wealth of others. The death of fellow Muslims in Maluku only further exascerbated their anger towards wealthy chinese and christian groups based in Ampenan and Mataram. Rumors that Newmont discriminated against Muslims by hiring Christian Menadonese and Javanese contributed to existing antagonisms between the impoverished East-West majority and who they perceived to be the priveleged minority of West Lombok. Other concerns: Indonesian military and police officers previously stationed in East Timor were relocated to Lombok in droves. Some of these men are war criminals. One of these men, [name deleted], a notorious war criminal and psychopath previously stationed in Baucau, East Timor, arrived in Lombok a month ago. Although he is not behind Ampibi, he is an organizer of militia activity in West Timor and skilled in mass destruction similar to what we witnessed in East Timor. This information is not meant to breed conspiracy theories, merely to help us understand the complacency of the armed and police forces on the 17th and 18th. Perhaps new forces with different approaches to the violence will help to delocalize the conflict and quell the violence. Until then, the obvious use of Ampibi/Bujak membership in the burning of Mataram and Ampenan churches and economic centers, not to mention Senggigi, displays an multi-faceted agenda expressed through violence at once national, regional, religious and class-oriented. -END-
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