Competing Myths of Nationalist Identity: Ideological Perceptions of Conflict in Ambon, Indonesia

The development of an Ambonese nationalist movement from a non-territorial communal riot offers an important insight into understanding the changes in ethnic and national consciousness that had taken place among the Ambonese since the eruption of violence in January 1999. The 1999 conflict in Ambon, Eastern Indonesia began as a communal riot in which members of one group suddenly instigated a violent attack on civilian members of another group. However the development of the Moluccan Sovereignty Front and the Java-based Laskar Jihad represented an important phase in conflict development as each nationalist construction played off each other. The conflict on the island became characterised by this trend where two conflicting ideological constructions translated the conflict into a non- negotiable confrontion between opposing national rights. These constructions remained internalised on the island and embedded within the mindsets of both Ambonese Christians and Muslims thereby rendering setbacks to conflict resolution.