(Estimated Pub Date) the Challenge of Ethnic Conflict to National and International Order in the 1990S: Geographic Perspectives- October 1995

Approved for Release: 2018/06/01 C00123268
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the loyalty, allegiance, and cooperation of ethnic
groups whose interests were perceived as similar
to those of the funding agency. But, as the recent
example of Afghanistan indicates, it is often easier to
inflame ethnic, religious, and tribal passions than to
control them.
Religious Tensions
Southeast Asia has generally been regarded as a
region of religious tolerance. Indonesia, the nation
with the largest Muslim population, is located here, as
are the majority of the world’s Theravada Buddhists.
Major Christian communities are found here as well
not only in the Philippines but also as minorities in
almost all the nation-states of the region. In the cities,
Chinese—Southeast Asians worship at Buddhist, Con-
fucian/Taoist, and--increasingly-—at Christian sanc-
tuaries. In the recent past, ethnic, religious, and
ideological conflicts have sometimes been bound as
one. "
The most gruesome expression of intracommunal con-
flict since the close of the colonial era in Southeast
Asia transpired in Indonesia-—largely on Java and
Bali—in the wake of an abortive Communist coup in
I965. As the Indonesian Army moved to seize power
from President Soekarno, a massive slaughter of Com-
munist and Communist-affiliated intellectuals, peas-
ants, and workers was sanctioned (Hefner, 1990:
193-215). The victims were depicted as godless trai-
tors. The executioners were largely _drawn from
fanatic Muslim youth groups. The rhetoric was that of
national salvation through righteous retribution. The
reaction of the Westem world to these events was gen-
erally one of unrestrained approval. In the context of
the Cold War, the destruction of the largest Commu-
nist party outsidethe Eastern Bloc was deemed to be a
major victory for the West. The conflict with the Com-
munists was carefully couched in religious terms in
Indonesia to generate maximum support for the new
regime. -
A little noted but_clearly significant element in the
Southeast Asian religious landscape is the rapid
spread of Christianity in recent years. The tradition-
ally animist highlanders across much of the region
have opted for Christian conversion as a means of
maintaining their distinct identity in the face ofBud-
dhist or Muslim lowland pressures to assimilate. As
Christianity advances, both in the mountains and also
in distinct urban and lowland mainstream communi-
ties, the potential for tension rises. Such tension may
be based on longstanding differences between the
established religion in the lowlands and the new world
religious affiliation in the highlands. Such tension may
also result from newly acquired skills in literacy,
enhanced ethnic consciousness, and strengthened
resistance in the face of perceived lowland cultural
assimilation policies.
Tensions in Malaysia and Indonesia between Muslim
majority populations and Christian minorities has led
to violence in the past and may do so in the future. In
Indonesia tensions between Christians and Muslims
have been rising, especially in light of the ongoing
advance of Christianity in remote outer island regions
and in parts of Java formerly inclined towards pre-
Hindu religious affiliation. Similarly, in Malaysia the
underlying tensions between Christian and Confucian
Chinese and Muslim Malays has erupted in significant
violence in the recent past (1969) and could certainly
do so in the future. In Vietnam largely clandestine for-
eign missionary operations are underway in many
parts of the country. These could engender internal
conflicts and ignite ethnic and nationalist passions in
ways unintended by their proponents. Highland Bur-
mese rebels, especially in Karen and Lahu regions,
have, since independence, always manipulated their
Christian affiliation as one of the several aspects of
regional independence threatened by Burmese nation-
alism as defined in Rangoon. In Thailand, the rela-
tively small highland population—about 9 percent of
the country-is increasingly constrained from practic-
ing shifting cultivation. Pressure on the land has led to
accelerated conversions among groups such as the
Karen and the Akha in recent years. Such affiliation
may indeed strengthen the will, resolve, and capability
of formerly isolated peoples to resist incursions upon
land and culture. As the case of Burma indicates, eth-
nic conflict can result if the relations between minority
and majority communities fail to be negotiated with
tact and understanding.
Border Regions
In a region as diverse as Southeast Asia, subprovincial
district borders are often isomorphic with linguistic
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Approved for Release: 2018/06/01 C00123268