November 12, 2007: Islamic
radicalism has fizzled in Indonesia. There are still Islamic radicals, but they
have shifted from terrorism to arguing over what Islamic ring tones should be
allowed on cell phones, or whether prayers should be said in Indonesian, rather
than Arabic.
November 11, 2007: The
security situation has improved in East Timor, but the economy has not. Most
people have no jobs and many are still living in refugee camps. Prospects are
not good.
November 4, 2007: In Papua,
villagers rioted after a tribal chief collapsed and died during a scuffle with
police. Several rioters were killed or wounded by the police. Most Indonesians
are Malay, while the largely tribal peoples of Papua are Melanesian. The two
groups do not get along, partly because the Malays are better educated and
organized. Most of the Papuan tribes want more autonomy, or even independence.
But the tribes have many feuds with each other, which makes it easier for the
national government to maintain control of the region (which is the western
half of the island of New Guinea.)
