Jakarta, Indonesia ― May 24, 2010 ― Indonesia continues to consolidate its identity as a pluralistic, representative, and democratic society, and the opportunity to learn from past conflicts will help in that process. SERASI grantee Jasa Risetindo (JRI) undertook an extensive analysis of conflict from the fall of the New Order in 1998 through the present. The result is the first comprehensive data set on conflict in the country since 2003– a goldmine of information for both past analysis and future policy planning.

Preliminary analysis of the data shows that the nature of conflict in Indonesia has changed: conflict deaths have decreased dramatically from a 1999 peak, but conflict incidents and injuries continue to rise; conflicts today tend to be individual rather than communal in form, and are more related to ‘popular justice’ issues than the ethnic and religious issues of the past. These findings may have impact on future activities and approaches.

These findings were the result of the USAID/SERASI and World Bank-funded, JRI implemented “Violent Conflict in Indonesia Study (ViCS)” project, which uses data gathering and analysis methodologies developed by the World Bank Indonesia Conflict and Development Program. JRI, a Jakarta-based institution with extensive experience in social research, has undertaken ViCS in order to understand violent conflict in Indonesia through the compilation and analysis of conflicts reported in 40 + local newspapers over the last 11 years. The study uses local newspaper monitoring to track incidences, forms, and impacts of localized violent conflict in six post-conflict provinces; Maluku, North Maluku, Papua, West Papua, Central Sulawesi, and Aceh. Further comparative studies are being undertaken in 10 additional provinces.

JRI presented ViCS Early Comparative Findings from Six Post-Conflict Provinces on April 1st, 2010 in Jakarta. The presentation illustrated the changing nature of conflict trends over the last 11 years, as well as the painstaking process of ViCS data aggregation. The quantitative conflict database produced by the study will play an important role as the basis for conflict mitigation programming by key Indonesian stakeholders including government. Not only will ViCS enable local governments to devise effective conflict prevention and management measures, it will also provide information to help the government revise laws for managing potential conflicts and create awareness about conflict dynamics. ViCS also serves as Indonesia’s contribution to the academic analysis of violent conflict in general.

SERASI is a USAID funded project focused on creating stable, democratic communities. It is implemented by International Relief and Development (IRD).