Stop the rampage<\/p>\n
Every thinking person must be appalled by the anarchy -- there
\nreally is no other word for it -- that engulfed much of Jakarta
\nyesterday. For two days in a row since Wednesday, the day
\nfollowing the tragic death of four demonstrating students at
\nJakarta's Trisakti University, the Indonesian capital has been in
\nthe throes of some of the most ugly rioting, burning and looting
\nthe city has seen in decades. Thursday's riots might well equal,
\nif not surpass, those of January 1974, which many Jakartans still
\nremember as the infamous Malari Incident.<\/p>\n
In a sense, it may be true to say that it was Tuesday's deadly
\nshooting incident at Trisakti University in West Jakarta that
\nsparked the riots of the past two days. What must be clear to
\neveryone is that the riots have had nothing to do whatsoever with
\neither the student commemorations mourning their fallen
\ncolleagues or with their ongoing campaign for reform. What
\nappears to have happened is that non-students have -- either
\nspontaneously or at the instigation of agents provocateurs for
\nwhatever purpose -- used the momentum that the emotion-laden
\nsituation has provided to spark the riots.<\/p>\n
What has precisely happened is something the authorities are
\ncurrently in the process of investigating. Whatever it was, now
\nis the time to call for an immediate stop to the rampage. In the
\nmeantime, we should ask ourselves why people are so easily
\nincited to commit such acts of violence. Earlier riots, such as
\nthose that rocked Tasikmalaya and other towns across Java a while
\nago, have shown that it often takes only the slightest
\nprovocation to move people to riot. And when the frenzy erupts,
\nit is naturally the most defenseless among us who are the
\nvictims: our own citizens of Chinese ancestry and other minority
\ngroups.<\/p>\n
As we and other more learned observers and analysts have often
\npointed out, the kind of social equilibrium that we have
\nmaintained for decades has served well enough to preserve
\nstability -- or at least an appearance of stability. But this was
\nachieved only by burying feelings of anger, injury or injustice
\nthat have slowly, but surely, been building up in society.
\nUnfortunately, in the then prevailing environment of relative
\nprosperity, such well-intended warnings were more often than not
\nignored by the authorities concerned.<\/p>\n
Under the circumstances, one could be inclined to agree with
\nthose who see the present flare-up of social and political unrest
\nas a direct consequence -- an explosion as it were -- of those
\nlong pent-up feelings and emotions. Lamentably, it is the most
\ndefenseless groups of our national community that suffer the
\nheaviest -- a reality that not only threatens our unity and
\ncohesion as a nation, but is also certain to have adverse
\nconsequences for the economy and our society.<\/p>\n
As more of our city's shops are looted or burned, many
\ncommodities, including rice and other basic necessities, that are
\nalready scarce could become even scarcer. As more people are
\ndeprived of food and other necessary goods, public order and
\nsecurity could worsen with all the obvious consequences that this
\nbrings for most ordinary citizens. The riots of the past couple
\nof days could also affect the pace of this country's political
\ndevelopment.<\/p>\n
If a glimmer of hope can be seen amid all this turmoil, it is
\nthat almost every person of social or political importance in
\nthis country is now agreed that the key to overcoming the crisis
\nis in bringing about significant reform. Without this, the
\nproblems that have for so many years afflicted our society would
\nonce again be buried, to explode once more at a later time when
\nconditions are ripe.<\/p>\n
Security and order must be restored, but not at the expense of
\nnecessary reform. Our system is simply no longer adequate for
\nanswering the challenges of the new global era.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/stop-the-rampage-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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