Bravo Indonesia!<\/p>\n
Bravo Indonesia! It may seem that after so many deaths on
\n\"Black Friday\" Indonesia has little to celebrate; but that is
\nwrong.<\/p>\n
Between 11 p.m. and midnight on that fateful day we visited
\nthe Semanggi area. First we encountered a large group of students
\njust south of Jl. Asia Afrika. They were peaceable, fatigued,
\ncalm and genuinely absorbed in their task of bringing reform to
\nIndonesia. As we walked among them they paid little attention to
\nus and were not at all threatening.<\/p>\n
Closer to Semanggi, however, we encountered hundreds of ogling
\nsoldiers and police. Other civilians were milling about and we
\nwalked up onto the Jl. Gatot Subroto flyover that was almost
\ndevoid of vehicles. As we approached a vantage point providing a
\nview of what was happening on Jl. Jenderal Sudirman, we and
\nothers were aggressively warded off by intimidating and nervous
\ntroops bearing semiautomatic weapons slung across their waists.
\nAs the soldiers brandished their guns, shouted, kicked and
\nthreatened with their sticks a journalist told us to leave before
\nthe troops turned rough. We left; but couldn't help reflecting on
\nthe contrasting atmosphere of the two places we had stopped at.<\/p>\n
Ironically, the encounters gave us great hope for the future
\nof Indonesia. If, in such provocative circumstances, Indonesian
\nyouth can be so calm and self-disciplined, in stark contrast to
\nthe country's trained professional soldiers, the future bodes
\nwell for Indonesia when this new generation makes its more
\nconventional contribution to the development of this country. How
\ndoubly sad it is, therefore, that some of these young people's
\nlives had to end so prematurely.<\/p>\n
FRANK and SHERISADA MANAF RICHARDSON<\/p>\n
Tangerang, West Java<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bravo-indonesia-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }