Elite create mob society, not 'civil society'<\/p>\n
Yogita Tahilramani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesia's political elite have failed to bring about a civil
\nsociety as they are more inclined to use repressive and
\nmilitaristic approaches than democratic principles in resolving
\ndifferences, an expert says.<\/p>\n
\"The use of repressive measures facilitates the birth of mob
\nsocieties rather than civil societies,\" political analysts J.
\nKristiadi of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies
\n(CSIS) told The Jakarta Post on Friday on the sidelines of a
\nthree-day seminar on Indonesian Transition to Democracy.<\/p>\n
\"When a government controls civilians with military power for
\na long period of time, what do you think happens to the
\ncivilians? They (the civilians) form mob societies and settle
\ntheir problems with weapons,\" said Kristiadi, adding that the
\ncountry's political elite were products of a severely repressed
\nsociety who could not but encourage Indonesians to form and
\nmaintain \"mob societies\".<\/p>\n
Indonesia was autocratically ruled for 32 years by former
\npresident Soeharto, who used the military to dispose of his
\nenemies and jailed people speaking out against his government.<\/p>\n
Kristiadi particularly criticized the government's recent
\ndecision to reinstate the Iskandar Muda Military Command in Aceh.
\nHuman rights campaigners and Acehnese people have strongly
\nobjected the move.<\/p>\n
\"The government says it needs to curb separatist activities in
\nAceh ... the government also knows that by reinstating the
\nmilitary command, it encourages the taking up of arms and
\nweaponry by civilians,\" said Kristiadi, adding that the answer to
\nthe Aceh case was not the deployment of thousands of soldiers in
\nthe province, but in understanding damage control and its
\nmanagement.<\/p>\n
\"Politicians must not allow the military to heavily influence
\nthe running of local administrations,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs
\nSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono had earlier stated that the
\nreintroduction of the Iskandar Muda military command in Aceh was
\ndesigned to \"strengthen the Indonesian Military's ability to
\nhandle the separatist movement in the province.\"<\/p>\n
Aceh has been under the auspices of the Bukit Barisan Military
\nCommand based in the North Sumatra capital of Medan since its own
\nmilitary command was dissolved in 1984.<\/p>\n
Human rights activists have accused the army of committing
\nwidespread abuses in Aceh, including running death squads that
\ntarget civilians opposed to Indonesian rule.<\/p>\n
Kristiadi called on the country's elite to educate civilians
\nto form groups and learn about managing their own security and
\nsocieties in a civilized manner and to learn the virtues of
\nnegotiating to settle a problem.<\/p>\n
\"Guns, weapons ... killing is never the answer,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In the seminar, legal expert Nursyahbani Katjasungkana said
\nthat capital punishment must be abolished from the Indonesian
\nlegal system.<\/p>\n
\"The sentencing of drug smugglers to death in Indonesia hardly
\nstops drug traffickers from sending drug couriers into and out of
\nIndonesia,\" she said, adding that under Indonesia's corrupt legal
\nsystem, the execution of a death sentence is a crucial matter.<\/p>\n
\"How is it fair to take away a person's life via a corrupt
\nlegal system ... how can anyone justify taking a person's life?\"
\nshe asked.<\/p>\n
Nursyahbani noted that criminals were sent to prisons not
\nbecause society was taking revenge on them.<\/p>\n
\"Courts are not arenas for vengeful societies. Prisons are
\ncalled Lembaga Pemasyarakatan (rehabilitation institutes) because
\npeople sent into them are supposed to be taught certain values
\nand skills to become better human beings ... so that they are
\nsent back into their societies as better people,\" Nursyahbani
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"Bombers too get the death penalty. Does the sentencing of a
\nbomber make for a better society? Life imprisonment is fine, but
\nnot capital punishment.\"<\/p>",
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