Indonesia Essay -- essays research papers fc

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After Indonesia declared independence in 1945 the country’s leader, Sukarno, faced the extremely difficult task of creating a unified state out of Indonesia’s numerous ethnic groups. Also ever since its independence Indonesia’s rulers had to suppress uprisings of muslim groups because it threatened the country’s secular ideology.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The attempts by Indonesia’s leaders to maintain unity and the ways in which the military suppressed separatist movements fueled many of the economic, social, and political problems the nation is facing today. After the tsunami, many of the issues surrounding the nationalist issue resurfaced and might change the nature of the conflict between supporters of Indonesian unity and those seeking independence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The rebels in Aceh claim that the region was illegally annexed by Indonesia at the time of independence, and a separatist movement has been active there since 1976. During the regime of Suharto the military was given absolute power, and the continuous military presence in the region was marked by brutality towards the Acehnese and mistreatment of suspected rebels. Therefore many Acehnese feel a deep sense of distrust towards Indonesia. Since 2003 Aceh has been under Indonesian military rule and the area was closed off to foreigners as an attempt to isolate the area and crush the separatist movement. Indonesia allowed virtually no foreign presence in Aceh. Many believe that the isolation of the area was an attempt by the government t...