It’s become a habit of Indonesian President Joko Widodo to wear the traditional clothes of ethnic groups during national events, such as when he delivers the State of the Nation address or during Independence Day.
He recently wore the traditional dress of the Badui people — a Sundanese ethnic group from the hinterlands of Banten, a province adjacent to Jakarta — when he delivered the State of the Nation address to parliament.
This indigenous group is estimated to be about 26,000 strong and is one that prefers to isolate itself from the outside world.
Many praise Widodo’s gestures as a sign of his love for tribal communities and for raising public awareness about them. However, many also attack him, saying he does it to deflect criticism of the government’s inability to protect indigenous communities.
The government often claims it is taking care of indigenous peoples, citing money spent on such groups.
However, support or protection is not at all about how much money is spent on them or how often their traditional dress or artwork is displayed, or folk songs sung at festivals. This only touches the surface.
The government often speaks of tribal protection but its policies have often suffocated and hurt indigenous groups
According to Matthew Kelly, an internationally acclaimed speaker, author and business consultant from Australia, superficiality is the curse of the modern world.
He is right in many ways and it doesn’t only apply in the spiritual realm but also to social and political behavior that tends to see things on the surface, not what’s underneath.
Having a skin-deep view without going deeper into the core problems faced by Indonesian tribal groups can cause social malfunction as their numbers are large.
According to the Alliance of Indigenous Peoples of the Archipelago (AMAN), around 70 million of Indonesia’s population belong to indigenous groups and live in 2,371 communities spread across the whole country.
Thank you. You are now signed up to Daily newsletter
The existence of many of these groups is threatened due to the government’s inability to support them and help them adapt to the irreversible wave of modernization and globalization.
The government often speaks of tribal protection but its policies have often suffocated and hurt indigenous groups, such as by giving concessions to mining or palm oil corporations.
Some observers claim another threat to these groups is discrimination from mainstream society, which is deeply suspicious of traditional beliefs that people feel go against the doctrines of the country’s six official religions — Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism.
Adherents of Sunda Wiwitan, the religion of ethnic Sundanese which venerates ancestral spirits, were attacked by police and a group of conservative Muslims in West Java last year.
The cemetery of their venerated leader was vandalized. The government’s previous policy that obliged all citizens, including adherents to traditional beliefs, to state their religion on identity cards was also blamed for such discrimination.
This policy was believed to have caused many indigenous people to embrace official religions. Some tribal people in Kalimantan and Papua were reported to have embraced Christianity.
One of the most distinctive characteristics of indigenous people is their closeness to nature, the land and forests, which are not only a source of food but also spiritual nourishment.
When a forest — their home and place of worship — is ripped from them, it is akin to killing by removing the life support from a seriously ill patient.
That’s what happens when the government, in the name of boosting revenue, allows giant multinational mining or plantation corporations to exploit forests, mountains and seas.
Inaction over an indigenous people’s rights bill proposed over a decade ago has worsened the situation
Rukka Sombolinggi, AMAN’s president, has often accused the government of not protecting indigenous people.
She recently slammed Widodo’s wearing of tribal costumes as nothing more than a superficial gesture. She said what matters most to indigenous communities is their land, which is shrinking all the time, consumed by bulldozers.
She attacked Widodo for not fulfilling his pre-election promises to advance the rights of indigenous people. Instead of policies to protect and promote their rights, the government has issued investment regulations that have jeopardized their existence, she says.
Inaction over an indigenous people’s rights bill proposed over a decade ago has worsened the situation.
The bill has noble goals, such as solving agrarian conflicts that have festered ever since the colonial era. In such disputes, many indigenous people are the victims and many have been jailed for defending their lands.
A recent Indonesian Human Rights Commission report stated that most of the complaints it received last year were related to agrarian conflicts, with North Sumatra topping other regions.
Nearly all the violators of indigenous people’s rights were police, corporations and local governments, it said.
Indigenous people require a law that recognizes their rights as a community and gives them the power to stand strong amid globalization
Human rights activists believe agrarian reform is the solution to the problems faced by indigenous communities.
The Widodo administration has tried to solve the problem through its free land certification program. Nearly 35 million land certificates have been issued, and the government aims to register another 80 million by 2025.
That seems like a big achievement. However, analysts said land certification just ensures individual rights and only partially solves the problem. Indigenous people require a law that recognizes their rights as a community and gives them the power to stand strong amid globalization and against moves to encroach on their traditional lands.
It’s suspected that one of the reasons why the customary rights bill remains in limbo is because once it is passed many politicians will be out of pocket. Critics say keeping it on hold protects the personal interests of political elites who have businesses in forests where indigenous people live.
Unfortunately, as long as local governments, the police and the military conspire with corporations to trample on the rights of indigenous groups, conflicts will never cease.
Central government must do more for tribal communities and save them, not just by wearing their attire or singing their songs but by giving them rights and a stronger sense of identity.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of UCA News.
Credit: Source link
