Indonesia (redirected from Indnonesia)

Indonesia (ĭn'dənē`zhə), officially Republic of Indonesia, republic (2005 est. pop. 241,974,000), c.735,000 sq mi (1,903,650 sq km), SE Asia, in the Malay Archipelago. The fourth most populous country in the world, Indonesia comprises more than 13,000 islands extending c.3,000 mi (4,830 km) along the equator from the Malaysia mainland toward Australia; the archipelago forms a natural barrier between the Indian and Pacific oceans. The capital and largest city is Jakarta, on Java.

Land and People

Consisting of the territory of the former Netherlands East Indies, Indonesia's main island groups are the Greater Sunda Islands, which include Java, Sumatra, central and S Borneo (Kalimantan), and Sulawesi; the Lesser Sunda Islands, consisting of Bali, Flores, Sumba, Lombok, and the western part of Timor; the Moluccas (Maluku), with Ambon, Seram, and Halmahera; and the Riau Archipelago. After years of dispute with the Dutch, Papua was formally annexed by Indonesia in Aug., 1969. The most important islands, culturally and economically, are Java, Bali, and Sumatra.

All the larger islands have a central volcanic mountainous area flanked by coastal plains; there are more than 100 active volcanoes. Earthquakes are frequent and, although not usually severe, can sometimes cause devastation. The animal life of Indonesia roughly forms a connecting link between the fauna of Asia and that of Australia. Elephants are found in Sumatra and Borneo, tigers as far south as Java and Bali, and marsupials in Timor and New Guinea. Crocodiles, snakes, and richly colored birds are everywhere. The tropical climate, abundant rainfall, and remarkably fertile volcanic soils permit a rich agricultural yield.

The population falls roughly into two groups, the Malayan and the Papuan, with many of the inhabitants east of Bali representing a transition between the two types. Within each group are numerous subdivisions, and cultural development ranges from the modern Javanese and Balinese to traditional tribes in Borneo, Sumatra, and New Guinea. The complex ethnic structure is the result of several great migrations many centuries ago, largely from Asia. The Chinese constitute by far the greatest majority of the nonindigenous population; they number about 2 to 3 million and play an important role in the country's economic life. There are smaller minorities of Arabs and Indians.

More than 300 languages are spoken in Indonesia, but an official language, Bahasa Indonesia (regarded as the purest Malay), has been adopted and has spread rapidly; it is now understood in all but the most remote villages. English is considered to be the country's second language. Almost 90% of the population is Muslim, making Indonesia the largest Islamic nation in the world. Slightly less than 10% of the population is Christian, and about 2% is Hindu and 1% Buddhist. Hindus are concentrated principally on Bali, which is known for its unique culture. Animism, sometimes combined with Islam, is common among some groups.

Notable among the many state universities scattered throughout the islands are the Univ. of Indonesia, at Jakarta; the Bandung Technology Institute, at Bandung; Airlangga Univ., at Surabaya; Gadjah Mada Univ., at Yogyakarta; and the Univ. of North Sumatra, at Medan. Private schools include the Islamic Univ. of Indonesia, at Yogyakarta, and National Univ., at Jakarta.

Economy

Crude oil and natural gas are Indonesia's most valuable natural resources and have long been its major source of export revenue, but declines in production since the 1990s made the nation a net importer of oil in 2004. Agriculture accounts for about 16% of the GDP and employs over 40% of the labor force. Indonesia is one of the world's major rubber producers; other plantation crops include sugarcane, coffee, tea, tobacco, palm oil, cinchona, cloves, cocoa, sisal, coconuts, and spices. Despite plantation cultivation, Indonesia has a wide landholding base; the majority of the people are largely self-sufficient in food. Rice is the major crop; cassava, corn, yams, soybeans, peanuts, and fruit are also grown. Horses and cattle are raised on some of the Lesser Sunda Islands. Fish are abundant, both in the ocean and in inland ponds.

In natural-resource potential, Indonesia is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. It has great timberlands; vast rain forests of giant trees (among the world's tallest) cover the mountain slopes, and teak, sandalwood, ironwood, camphor, and ebony are cut. Palm, rattan, and bamboo abound, and a great variety of forest products is produced. Indonesia is a major exporter of timber, accounting for nearly half of the world's tropical hardwood trade. However, the rapid deforestation of Indonesia's hardwoods, mainly due to its expanding population and growing timber-related industries, has caused concern among international environmental groups and sparked ethnic conflict (particularly between immigrants and native Dyaks on Borneo). In addition, enormous out-of-control brush fires, started illegally during the dry season to clear land, have caused significant health, navigation, and economic hazards some years.

Tin, bauxite, nickel, coal, manganese, copper, gold, and silver are mined, and salt is available in large quantities from shallow enclosed seashore lagoons. Iron and uranium are believed to exist in quantity but have not yet been exploited. Primarily a supplier of raw materials, the country began to industrialize and developed rapidly in the 1990s. The industrial sector includes the manufacture of textiles, cement, chemical fertilizers, electronics, rubber tires, and clothing and shoes (much of them for the U.S. market), as well as food, mineral, and wood processing. The government has also promoted tourism, and Bali is a popular tourist destination. Indonesia has attracted increased foreign investment in recent years, but corruption is widespread. Labor unrest has been a persistent problem due to the tensions between the predominantly ethnic Chinese business owners and a workforce made up almost entirely of ethnic Malays. The country's economy was severely impacted by the 1997–98 Asian financial crisis and it continues to experience high unemployment and inflation, although the nation began to rebound in 2000. Indonesia's main trading partners are Japan, the United States, Singapore, and South Korea.

Government

Indonesia is governed under the constitution of 1945, which was restored in 1959, and its amendments. The unicameral legislature is the 550-member House of Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat or DPR), who are popularly elected (by proportional representation) from multimember constituences. This body plus 195 indirectly selected members make up the People's Consultative Assembly (Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat or MPR), which meets every five years to determine national policy and annually to consider constitutional amendments and other changes. The president and vice president are popularly elected; before 2004 they were chosen by the MPR. The president, who is the chief executive, appoints a cabinet. For over 30 years, until 1999, the government was essentially controlled by the quasi-official Golkar party. Administratively, the country is divided into 30 provinces, 2 special regions, and the special capital city district of Jakarta; these are subdivided into regencies (districts).

History

Early History and Colonial Rule

Early in the Christian era, Indonesia came under the influence of Indian civilization through the gradual influx of Indian traders and Buddhist and Hindu monks. By the 7th and 8th cent., kingdoms closely connected with India had developed in Sumatra and Java; the spectacular Buddhist temples of Borobudur date from this period. Sumatra was the seat (7th–13th cent.) of the important Buddhist kingdom of Sri Vijaya. In the late 13th cent. the center of power shifted to Java, where the fabulous Hindu kingdom of Majapahit had arisen; for two centuries it held sway over Indonesia and large areas of the Malay Peninsula. A gradual infiltration of Islam began in the 14th and 15th cent. with the arrival of Arab traders, and by the end of the 16th cent. Islam had replaced Buddhism and Hinduism as the dominant religion. The once-powerful kingdoms broke into smaller Islamic states whose internecine strife made them vulnerable to European imperialism.

Early in the 16th cent. the Portuguese, in pursuit of the rich spice trade, began establishing trading posts in Indonesia, after taking (1511) the strategic commercial center of Malacca (see Melaka) on the Malay Peninsula. The Dutch followed in 1596 and the English in 1600. By 1610 the Dutch had ousted the Portuguese, who were allowed to retain only the eastern part of Timor, but the English competition remained strong, and it was only after a series of Anglo-Dutch conflicts (1610–23) that the Dutch emerged as the dominant power in Indonesia.

Throughout the 17th, 18th, and 19th cent. the Dutch East India Company steadily expanded its control over the entire area. When the company was liquidated in 1799, the Dutch government assumed its holdings, which were thereafter known in English as the Netherlands (or Dutch) East Indies. Dutch rule was briefly broken (1811–14) during the Napoleonic Wars when the islands were occupied by the British under T. Stamford Raffles. The Dutch exploited the riches of the islands throughout the 19th cent., but their rule did not go unchallenged by the Indonesians. In 1825, Prince Diponegoro of Java launched a long and bloody guerrilla war against the colonists, and in 1906 and again in 1908 the native rulers of Bali led their subjects in suicidal charges against Dutch fortifications.

Nationalism, Independence, and Sukarno

The Indonesian movement for independence began early in the 20th cent. The Indonesian Communist party (PKI) was founded in 1920; in 1927 the Indonesian Nationalist party (PNI) arose under the leadership of Sukarno. It received its impetus during World War II, when the Japanese drove out (1942) the Dutch and occupied the islands. In Aug., 1945, immediately after the Japanese surrender, Sukarno and Muhammad Hatta, another nationalist leader, proclaimed Indonesia an independent republic. The Dutch bitterly resisted the nationalists, and four years of intermittent and sometimes heavy fighting followed. Under UN pressure, an agreement was finally reached (Nov., 1949) for the creation of an independent republic of Indonesia. A new constitution provided for a parliamentary form of government. Sukarno was elected president, and Hatta became premier.

Although Sukarno had achieved a major accomplishment in uniting so many diverse peoples and regions under one government and one language, his administration was marked by inefficiency, injustice, corruption, and chaos. The rapid expropriation of Dutch property and the ousting of Dutch citizens (late 1950s) severely dislocated the economy; the country's great wealth was not exploited, and soaring inflation and great economic hardship ensued. A popular revolt, stemming from a desire for greater autonomy, began on Sumatra early in 1958 and spread to Sulawesi and other islands; the disorders led to increasingly authoritarian rule by Sukarno, who dissolved (1960) the parliament and reinstated the constitution of 1945, which had provided for a strong, independent executive (Hatta had resigned in 1956 following a conflict with Sukarno). The army, whose influence was strengthened by its role in quickly quelling the revolts, and the Communist party, whose ranks were growing very rapidly, constituted two important power blocs in Indonesian politics, with Sukarno holding the balance of power between the two.

In early 1962, Sukarno dispatched paratroopers to Netherlands New Guinea—territory claimed by Indonesia but firmly held by the Dutch—forcing the Dutch to agree to transfer that area to the United Nations with the understanding that it would pass under Indonesian administration in May, 1963, pending a referendum that was to be held by 1970. After the referendum, in Aug., 1969, Netherlands New Guinea was formally annexed by Indonesia, and its name was changed to West Irian (Irian Barat), then Irian Jaya, and later Papua. A guerrilla war was begun soon after by the Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM; Free Papua Movement), a group seeking Papua's independence.

Meanwhile, Sukarno made (1963) a major propaganda issue of Indonesian opposition to the newly created Federation of Malaysia and staged guerrilla raids into Malaysian territory on Borneo, beginning a conflict that was waged intermittently for three years. Sukarno began to lean increasingly toward the left, openly summoning Communist leaders for advice, exhibiting hostility toward the United States, and cultivating the friendship of Communist China. In 1965 he withdrew Indonesia from the United Nations. There is reason to believe that he may have known in advance of the abortive Communist coup against the army that began in Sept., 1965, with the assassination of six high army officials.

The Suharto Regime

The coup was swiftly thwarted by army forces under General Suharto, who gradually assumed power (although retaining Sukarno as symbolic leader). Thousands of alleged Communists were executed; people everywhere took the law into their own hands and a widespread massacre ensued (Oct.–Dec., 1965). As many as 750,000 people may have been killed, including many ethnic Chinese; in E and central Java and in Bali entire villages were wiped out.

The new government steadily increased its power, aided by massive student demonstrations against Sukarno. General Suharto brought an end (1966) to hostilities against Malaysia, banned the PKI, reestablished close ties with the United States, and reentered (1966) the United Nations. Indonesia became one of the founding countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1967. On Mar. 12, 1967, the national assembly voted Sukarno out of power altogether and named General Suharto acting president.

Suharto was elected president in 1968, and reelected in 1973, 1978, 1983, 1988, 1993, and 1998. His government reinstated an earlier Dutch colonial policy of "transmigration," in which farmers from the overpopulated islands of Java and Bali were moved to underpopulated areas such as Kalimantan, Sumatra, and Indonesian New Guinea. The policy has had mixed results; though more than six million had moved by the 1990s, Java and Bali continue to be heavily populated. The economy began to grow rapidly in the 1970s, due mainly to expanded oil, gas, and timber exports; in the 1980s and 90s manufacturing for export became important.

In 1975–76, Indonesia annexed East Timor (a former Portuguese colony), and incorporated it as a province of the country; the takeover was not recognized by the United Nations. Following the annexation, separatists in the largely Roman Catholic province resisted Indonesian control, suffering substantial loss of life. Indonesia came under increasing criticism from the United States and international organizations for human-rights abuses in the area.

During Suharto's regime, his family held sway over much of Indonesia's economic life, and government corruption increased. While the economic conditions of many Indonesians improved, opposition to his policies continued to be suppressed. In Oct., 1997, the country was plunged into economic upheaval when its currency plummeted. The stock market followed soon after, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed to provide the country with a $40 billion aid package in exchange for economic reforms. Struggling under a huge foreign debt and Suharto's reluctance to implement the IMF reforms, Indonesia's economy continued to worsen in 1998. Student protests and riots over rising prices broke out across the country, with increasing demands for Suharto to resign. Suharto stepped down in May, 1998, and his vice president, B. J. Habibie, assumed the presidency, pledging reform, clean government, and economic responsibility. In June, the government reached an agreement with foreign bankers on the rescheduling of nearly $80 billion in debt.

Early in 1999, Indonesia and Portugal reached an agreement permitting the people of East Timor to choose between limited autonomy within Indonesia and independence in a referendum. Fighting in East Timor between government security forces and anti-independence militias on one side and separatist guerrillas on the other increased in mid-1999 as the vote approached. In August, voters chose independence, but the territory descended into chaos as pro-Indonesian militias and the army engaged in a campaign of terror and brutality, killing proindependence Timorese and causing thousands to flee their homes. In Sept., 1999, after intense international pressure, President Habibie asked the United Nations to send a peacekeeping force to the area, and in October the United Nations agreed to take full control of East Timor until independence, which was achieved in 2002. Even as the situation in East Timor quieted down, however, calls for independence rose in other provinces, particularly Aceh, in N Sumatra, and Papua.

Meanwhile, in the June, 1999, parliamentary elections, the Indonesian Democratic party of Struggle of Megawati Sukarnoputri, the daughter of Sukarno, came in first with 34% of the vote; President Habibie's Golkar party came in second, with 22%. In the Oct., 1999, presidential elections, Abdurrahman Wahid, of the National Awakening party, became the country's first democratically elected president after Megawati failed to build the coalition needed to win; she was chosen by parliament as vice president. A Muslim theologian and religious leader, as well as a defender of human rights and religious tolerance, Wahid moved to increase civilian control over the military, which lost influence and prestige following Suharto's fall and the East Timor debacle. He also was forced to deal with often vociferous opposition in parliament. The economy began to revive in 2000, although the currency (rupiah) suffered a sharp loss in value.

In Feb., 2001, the parliament censured the president, who was implicated in two corruption scandals. Wahid, who had alienated Megawati and suffered a drop in popularity, was censured again in April. Although he was subsequently cleared of wrongdoing in the scandals, the parliament voted in July to remove him from office. Megawati succeeded Wahid as president. Subsequently the parliament passed laws granting limited autonomy (including substantial control over natural resources) to Aceh and Papua, in the hope of undercutting local secessionist movements, but violence in both provinces has continued. An agreement was signed with the Aceh rebels in Dec., 2002, raising hopes for peace that were dashed six months later when Indonesia ended what it regarded as fruitless talks and resumed military action.

Relations were strained with Malaysia in 2002 when as many as 400,000 Indonesians were forcibly deported under a tough new anti-illegal-immigrant law. Constitutional amendments passed in the same year called for the direct election of the president and the elimination of the seats reserved for the military in the national legislature. Both amendments took effect in 2004. In Oct., 2002, a terrorist bombing at a night club in Bali that was frequented by foreigners killed more than 200 people. The bombing was apparently by Indonesian Islamic radicals linked to Al Qaeda. Despite economic improvement since Megawati became president, corruption remains a major problem, having worsened significantly since Suharto's fall. A proposal in 2003 to split Papua into three provinces sparked new unrest there, and after legals appeals Papua was divided (2004) into Papua and West Irian Jaya.

Legislative elections in Apr., 2004, were a setback for Megawati's party, which came in second to Golkar; the latter won slightly more than a fourth of the seats. Seven parties secured significant blocks of seats. Megawati subsequently lost the presidency (Sept., 2004) to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a former general and security minister and the candidate of the Democrat party, after a runoff in Sept., 2004. The election was the first time that Indonesians were able to elect a president directly.

In Dec., 2004, a huge tsunami caused by an earthquake off NW Sumatra devastated Aceh, killing some 130,000 people, and a subsequent earthquake in March, caused much destruction on the islands of Simeulue and Nias, west of Sumatra. There was a polio outbreak in Java in May, 2005, that was linked to the persistence of the disease in W Africa and was believed to have been transmitted to Muslim pilgrims at Mecca. Indonesia began a massive immunization campaign in an attempt to limit polio's spread, but new cases continued to appear in the succeeding months. Acehnese rebels signed a peace agreement with the government in Aug., 2005, and subsequently disarmed in exchange for the establishment of local self-government. In May, 2006, an earthquake centered S of Yogyakarta in central Java killed some 5,800 people; a July quake off W Java caused a tsunami that killed some 400 people. Heavy rains caused massive flooding in the Jakarta area in Feb., 2007, forcing as many as 400,000 people from their homes.

Bibliography

See G. M. Kahin, Nationalism and Revolution in Indonesia (1952, repr. 1970); C. A. Fisher, South-east Asia (1964); G. Coedès, The Indianized States of Southeast Asia (1968); B. Dahm, History of Indonesia in the Twentieth Century (tr. 1971); H. R. Heekeren, The Stone Age of Indonesia (2d ed. 1972); W. T. Neill, Twentieth-Century Indonesia (1973); L. Palmier, ed., Understanding Indonesia (1985); D. Wilhelm, Emerging Indonesia (1986).

---

Indonesia

 officially Republic of Indonesia formerly Netherlands East Indies

Archipelago country, located off the coast of mainland Southeast Asia. It comprises some 17,500 islands, of which about 6,000 are uninhabited. Area: 730,024 square miles (1,890,754 square km). Population (2005 est.): 222,781,000. Capital: Jakarta (on Java). Indonesia has more than 300 ethnic groups, which in the western islands fall into three broad divisions: the inland rice-growing peoples of Java and neighbouring islands; the Muslim coastal peoples, including the Malays of Sumatra; and the Dayak and other tribal groups. In the east the distinction is between coastal and interior peoples. Languages: Bahasa Indonesia (official), some 250 languages from different ethnic groups. Religions: Islam; also Christianity, Hinduism, traditional beliefs. Currency: rupiah. The Indonesian archipelago stretches 3,200 miles (5,100 km) from west to east. Major islands include Sumatra, Java (with more than half of Indonesia's population), Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, about three-fourths of Borneo (Kalimantan), Celebes (Sulawesi), the Moluccas, and the western portions of Timor and New Guinea. The islands are characterized by rugged volcanic mountains and tropical rainforests. Geologically unstable, Indonesia has frequent earthquakes and 220 active volcanoes, including Krakatoa (Krakatau). Roughly one-fifth of its land is arable, and rice is the staple crop. Petroleum, natural gas, timber products, garments, and rubber are major exports. Indonesia is a republic with two legislative houses; its head of state and government is the president.

Austronesian-speaking peoples began migrating to Indonesia about the 3rd millennium BC. Commercial relations were established with Africa about the 1st century AD, and Hindu and Buddhist cultural influences from India began to take hold. Indian traders also brought Islam to the islands, and by the 13th century it was spreading throughout the islands—except Bali, which retained its Hindu religion and culture. Indonesia now has the largest Muslim population of any country. European influence began in the 16th century, and the Dutch gradually established control of Indonesia from the late 17th century until 1942, when the Japanese invaded. Sukarno declared Indonesia's independence in 1945, which the Dutch granted, with nominal union to The Netherlands, in 1949; Indonesia dissolved this union in 1954. The suppression of an alleged coup attempt in 1965 resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people the government claimed to be communists, and by 1968 Gen. Suharto had taken power. His government forcibly incorporated East Timor into Indonesia in 1975–76, with much loss of life. In the 1990s the country was beset by political, economic, and environmental problems, and Suharto was deposed in 1998. Muslim leader Abdurrahman Wahid was elected president in 1999 but was replaced in 2001 by his vice president, Megawati Sukarnoputri, the eldest daughter of Sukarno. In 2004 she was succeeded by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. In 1999 the people of East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia, which was granted; after a period under UN supervision, it achieved full sovereignty in 2002. In 2004 a large tsunami generated by an earthquake off the western coast of Sumatra caused widespread death and destruction.

---

Indonesia

a republic in SE Asia, in the Malay Archipelago, consisting of the main islands of Sumatra, Java and Madura, Bali, Sulawesi (Celebes), Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, the Moluccas, part of Timor, part of Borneo (Kalimantan), Papua (formerly Irian Jaya), and over 3000 small islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans: became the Dutch East Indies in 1798; declared independence in 1945; became a republic in 1950; East Timor (illegally annexed in 1975) became independent in 2002. Parts of Sumatra suffered badly in the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004. Official language: Bahasa Indonesia. Religion: Muslim majority. Currency: rupiah. Capital: Jakarta. Pop.: 222 611 000 (2004 est.). Area: 1 919 317 sq. km (741 052 sq. miles)