Is no one responsible?<\/p>\n
The conclusion drawn from a recent survey conducted by the New
\nIndonesia Alliance (PIB) that by far the majority of Indonesians
\ncrave for the good old days of peace and stability under
\npresident Soeharto's New Order hardly comes as a surprise.<\/p>\n
Of the 600 people polled in the survey, 75.7 percent said they
\nlonged for the stability of the Soeharto days, though most of the
\nrespondents noted that what they wished to return to was the
\nsecurity and stability of the old days, and not the stringent and
\noppressive political system that dominated it.<\/p>\n
Most respondents also believe that the present government of
\nPresident Abdurrahman Wahid is incapable of restoring security
\nand order as the majority of people, including the political
\nelite, were letting themselves be trapped in the euphoria of the
\nnewly acquired atmosphere of freedom.<\/p>\n
Sadly, it is difficult to disagree with this gloomy point of
\nview as youth and student activists are preparing to mark the
\nthird anniversary of the May incidents of 1998, set off by the
\nfatal shooting of four Trisakti University student protesters in
\nfront of their campus on May 12 of that year.<\/p>\n
Today, three years after the event, police and military
\nauthorities, legislators and human rights officials are still
\nbickering over what actually happened and who should shoulder the
\nresponsibility for the incident. In the meantime, more tragedies
\nhave occurred to add to the list of human rights violations
\nwithout anyone apparently being capable of solving the mystery of
\nthe shooting and no one willing to take responsibility for what
\nhappened -- with the possible exception of Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo
\nSubianto, who accepted responsibility for the incident, even
\nthough he denied having had a hand in it.<\/p>\n
Little wonder that on the eve of what has since become known
\nas the Trisakti Incident, frustrated students of the university
\nconverged in protest at the House of Representatives building,
\ndemanding that the special legislative commission in charge of
\nthe investigation of the incident, known as the Pansus Trisakti,
\neither show some results or be disbanded. In the straightforward
\nopinion of most ordinary Indonesians, regardless of whatever
\nhappened at the time, it is clear who must take responsibility.
\nAmong the Indonesian Military, after all, there is a saying that
\na foot soldier is never to blame; the ones who are to blame
\nwhenever an abuse occurs are the officers in command. Only a
\nhandful of junior officers have been tried and given relatively
\nlenient sentences for "deviating from proper procedure".<\/p>\n
One inescapable result of this has been that accusations have
\nbeen heard of "horse-trading" -- bartering privileges -- between
\nlegislators and military officers. Some in authority, for their
\npart, have argued that the fatal shooting of a number of students
\nand youth protesters during and since the Trisakti Incident,
\nincluding the shootings on two different occasions at the
\nSemanggi cloverleaf, were merely "excesses" of the reform process
\nthat have to be accepted.<\/p>\n
It should be remembered, however, that all those unresolved
\ntragedies -- from the Trisakti Incident to the May 13 through May
\n15 riots in Jakarta and the two Semanggi incidents, not to
\nmention the forceful June 27, 1996 takeover of the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party headquarters and the kidnapping and torture of
\ndemocracy activists -- add to the list of violations that have
\nover the past years contributed considerably to the fall in
\nprestige of the Indonesian Military.<\/p>\n
It is therefore in the interests of all parties -- not least
\nthe military -- that those unresolved incidents be cleared out of
\nthe way so that the military can clear itself of its tainted past
\nand start anew. At this point in its history, surely this country
\nneeds a military and police force which the entire nation can
\nlook up to.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/is-no-one-responsible-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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