From East Timor to Aceh: The disintegration of Indonesia?

Abstract Fears over the disintegration of the ethnically diverse and far-flung Indonesian state were behind the Indonesian army's reluctance to grant independence to East Timor, even in the wake of the overwhelming pro-independence vote in August 1999, according to this article. The same fears might also explain the hesitancy of the international community (the United States in particular) to send in UN peacekeeping forces without an explicit “invitation” from the Indonesian government. Against the backdrop of East Timor and—more particularly—the ongoing independence struggle in Aceh (at the western end of the Indonesian archipelago), the author examines the question of nation-building in a multi-ethnic state such as Indonesia. Intent to go beyond generalities about state unity and disintegration, the author strives to look closely at some of the contradictory elements of the nation-building project under the New Order regime of Suharto and his successors. The origins, aims, and operations of the Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (Free Aceh Movement, GAM) are presented in some detail.