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Indonesia is a former Dutch colony which declared its independence on August 17, 1945. However,it was not internationally recognised until December 27, 1949, when the Netherlands formallytransferred the sovereignty of the Dutch East Indies to a new political entity called ‘Indonesia’ atthe Round Table Conference in the Hague. This occasion marked the political union of all diversekingdoms and regional communities spread over the Indonesian archipelago. This step has beenfrequently associated with the global spirit of many other countries around the world to gainindependence from Western colonisers and with the international principle of self-determination.However, the relationship between the central government in Java and some regionalcommunities has been fluctuating for decades after the independence. This paper examines threeconflicts over the rights of self-determination in in three areas in Indonesia by reflecting on thehistorical background of Indonesia’s struggle for self-determination. Besides that, it also seeksto demonstrate the way Indonesia’s integrity has been negotiated to accommodate internal andexternal forces to achieve self-determination from international law perspective. Furthermore,this paper also contributes to the scholarly discussion on the concept of self-determination and theconflicts that it caused in Indonesian context, while also proposing some insights into the efforts topreserve Indonesia’s unity and integrity for years to come.Indonesia adalah sebuah negara bekas jajahan Belanda yang memproklamasikan kemerdekaannyapada tanggal 17 Agustus 1945. Namun, Indonesia baru diakui secara internasional pada tanggal27 Desember 1949 ketika Belanda secara formal menyerahkan kedaulatan negeri Hindia-Belanda kepada entitas politik baru yang disebut ‘Indonesia’ di dalam Perundingan MejaBundar yang diadakan di Den Haag. Peristiwa ini menyatukan secara politis berbagai kerajaandan komunitas lokal di seantero nusantara. Peristiwa ini pun dianggap sebagai implementasidari semangat global anti penjajahan asing dalam bingkai hukum self-determination. Namundemikian, hubungan antara pemerintah pusat di Jawa dengan wilayah-wilayah tertentumengalami dinamika dalam bentuk konflik yang terjadi selama beberapa dekade. Tulisan iniditujukan untuk mengkaji latar belakang dari tiga konflik yang berhubungan dengan hak selfdeterminationdan cara Indonesia bernegosiasi dengan kekuatan-kekuatan self-determination,baik internal maupun ekternal, ditinjau dari sudut padang hukum internasional. Kajian inidiharapkan dapat menambah pemahaman teoritis tentang konflik terkait self-determination danupaya penyelesaiannya dalam rangka mempererat persatuan dan integritas bangsa Indonesia dimasa yang akan datang. |
