A picture of lawlessness<\/p>\n
The pain our nation has endured since the onset of economic
\ncollapse last year is so severe that it has seemingly caused
\nserious metal decay among our people.<\/p>\n
The ruthless criminal offenses committed by wild mobs have
\ntragically painted a dark picture of the nation. Hair-raising
\nstories about murder and rape, looting and arson have sent shock
\nwaves not only across the country but also to many parts of the
\nglobe.<\/p>\n
Worse still, the people most affected by the tragedy see no
\nlight at the end of the tunnel because there is still a criminal
\npresence in various places, practicing different brutalities.
\nThere were reports earlier this week of 2,000 people raiding a
\nthree-hectare shrimp pond in Teluknaga district, some 20 km west
\nof Jakarta, causing the owner Rp 180 million (US$12,000) in
\nfinancial losses. At the same time thousands of people in East
\nJava stole crops from coffee plantations, and highwaymen ambushed
\ntrucks carrying food along the Jakarta-Bogor expressway. There
\nhave been no immediate reports on the losses suffered by the
\nowners of the plantations and food owners, but they would surely
\nreach hundreds of million of rupiah.<\/p>\n
The grim fact of the people taking the law in their own hands,
\nwhich would have been unimaginable before the monetary crisis,
\nleaves a bitter question: How could this peace-loving nation have
\ncommitted such inhumane acts?<\/p>\n
According to the first reports, the thieves, members of
\nunderprivileged groups of society, seem to have been hard hit by
\nthe economic crisis. However, the devil-may-care mentality of the
\nshrimp pond raiders and the way they mocked security officers,
\nwho tried to drive them away by firing warning shots, shows
\nanother angle to the change in values. Some of them went so far
\nas to challenge the officers to keep on shooting because it was a
\n\"festivity\".<\/p>\n
This act of mockery would also have been unimaginable over a
\nyear ago. Have our people become so daring and disrespectful in
\nnature? Or has the military lost its honor in the eyes of the
\npublic?<\/p>\n
Up until last year, the presence of security officers was a
\ncause for awe among the populace. Now people seem to have a
\ndifferent attitude. The shrimp thieves seemed to believe that the
\ntroops -- who consisted of Army and police members -- would not
\ndare shoot at them because the Armed Forces was in trauma after
\nit had been disclosed that some of its personnel had been
\ninvolved in kidnapping political activists and the killing of
\ninnocent students.<\/p>\n
However, the thieves' motives are sure to be further
\ninvestigated. But the failure of the officers to stop the acts of
\nlawlessness gives us a pessimistic picture of the capability to
\nkeep law and order, especially when the catastrophic decline of
\nour economy will push more people to commit unlawful practices.
\nSo the failure, if not addressed immediately, augurs the
\nreoccurrence of more violence, which will possibly lead to
\nanother explosion of mass unrest.<\/p>\n
When this happens our country will be even less attractive to
\nforeign investors, whom we have invited here to help put our
\neconomy back in motion.<\/p>\n
And then there is the concern of one expert, who has warned
\nthat the continuation of a lawless situation would only be abused
\nby the military and government as a pretext to sustain power.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/a-picture-of-lawlessness-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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