A drift towards violence?<\/p>\n
Less than three months after the authorities put down the July
\n27 riots in Jakarta, reports of mass violence are again jolting
\nthe nation. This time, the rampage took place in the East Java
\ntown of Situbondo, 160 kilometers east of Surabaya. According to
\nreports, five people were killed in the riots and an undisclosed
\nnumber of churches and Christian schools were burned and damaged.
\nAccording to the Communion of Churches In Indonesia, churches
\nwere also burned in the nearby towns of Besuki, Panarukan, Banyu
\nPutih, Asem Bagus and Wonorejo.<\/p>\n
On the face of it, the triggering factor in both cases -- the
\nfirst one in Jakarta and the second and most recent one in East
\nJava -- appears to be the same: protests by a group or groups of
\ndissatisfied people which spread and assumed wider dimensions. If
\none major dissimilarity is to be identified, it is, perhaps, the
\nfact that the Jakarta riots were a case of violence triggered by
\nviolence, while the latest East Java case was provoked by crowd
\ndissatisfaction over a prosecutor's demand in a court of justice,
\nwhich was considered too lenient.<\/p>\n
An official clarification of the most recent incident has yet
\nto be issued. However, initial reports stated that the riot broke
\nout during the trial of a local Moslem from an obscure sect who
\nis accused of blasphemy against Islam. The frenzy reportedly
\nbegan when the prosecutor demanded a five-year prison term for
\nthe defendant, with the crowd clamoring for the death sentence.<\/p>\n
Motives aside, this case appears to be only the latest in a
\nstring of violent incidents that are fueled by public anger being
\nvented in a variety of ways. Student brawls and soccer
\nhooliganism, both of which appear to be happening with increasing
\nfrequency, are relatively minor cases in point, distressing
\nthough they are. All acts of lawlessness and violence should be
\ndeplored. But when highly-sensitive issues such as race or
\nreligion become involved, the situation can become truly
\nfrightening.<\/p>\n
The authorities are well aware of the dangers to national
\nunity and cohesion such a situation brings. However, before we,
\nas a nation, can undertake to do what needs to be done to
\neffectively improve the situation, at least two urgent questions
\nneed to be answered: why the apparently growing trend towards
\nmass violence and how to prevent this trend from growing? The
\nstandard answers could be offered: promote our innate Indonesian
\nsense of harmony and tolerance, maintain our traditional peaceful
\nreligious coexistence and uphold the rule of law; praiseworthy
\nprinciples that have been expounded to exhaustion.<\/p>\n
We certainly are not lacking in promulgating and maintaining
\ngood principles. We believe that all of us, particularly those in
\npositions of power, can best do our part by simply practicing
\nwhat we preach. Let us show, by concrete example, that we respect
\nthe rule of law and that we all stand equal before the law. Let
\nus show, again by concrete example, that we are a tolerant people
\nwho respect the views and beliefs of others. In short, let us
\nhonestly put into practice all the lofty principles that are
\ncontained in our constitution and Pancasila ideology.<\/p>\n
This is a good deal easier said than done. After all, we all
\nhave our own goals and interests which we would like to see
\nrealized. But it is a step that must be taken. Let us hold back
\non the rhetoric and return to a climate of common sense. This
\ngrowing trend toward lawlessness and violence cannot be tolerated
\n-- unless we do not mind seeing our country gradually slide into
\ndisarray.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/a-drift-towards-violence-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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