The Fault Lines in Indonesia: The Hated “Others” in Anti-Ahok Campaign
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Abstract
The democratization process in post-Suharto Indonesia has given rise to cultural and political freedom for all Indonesian, particularly Chinese Indonesians. A new era of reformsi and re-engagement towards China, have introduced a new atmosphere for the Chinese Indonesians, who had been denied their political and cultural rights for decades. They are now allowed to regain their cultural and linguistical orientation towards their own ‘Chineseness’ and strengthen their business ties with China. Nevertheless, considering the violent history of anti-Chinese conflicts in Indonesia, there has been an undeniable long-persisting disgruntlement against the group’s wealth and ‘infidel’ status. The latest demonstrations against Ahok, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, during Jakarta’s governor election 2017 were obvious evidences of the deep-rooted fragility of the Post-Suharto multicultural society. The paper here sheds light on the New Order’s legacies: Islamic radicalism, anti-China and neo communism sentiments, and anti-Chinese Indonesian as ethno-religious sources of conflicts driven in the Anti-Ahok campaign.
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