The killings must end<\/p>\n
Perhaps our security authorities are well advised to carefully
\nheed the call made recently by the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) central
\nboard. The board's secretary-general, Achmad Bagja, reminded the
\nauthorities that the NU board is willing, for the present, to
\nallow them time to restore peace and security (in East Java and
\nother areas where mostly NU supporters have been killed by
\nunidentified individuals). This tolerance, he said, would run out
\nby the end of November at the latest. \"Unless the security
\nauthorities can end the problem soon, the people, and NU members
\nin particular, will settle the situation in their own manner,\" he
\nwarned.<\/p>\n
We hope this reference to settling the case in the people's
\nown manner does not mean abandoning the codes of the law. After
\nall, as Achmad Bagja also said, NU is hoping that the legal
\nprocess (of settling the affair) can be completed quickly.
\nNevertheless, it should be realized -- and anticipated -- that
\nthe people's way of settling affairs could overstep the
\nboundaries of correctness as defined by the law.<\/p>\n
Even the village vigilantes -- which were formed at the
\ngovernment's advice -- can overstep their lawful authority
\nbecause of the pressures of the situation. In some instances,
\npeople have taken the law into their own hands and acted with
\nexcessive force against those who were suspected of being the
\nkillers. Once again, therefore, the authorities must lay open the
\nsituation promptly in order that the people do not take the law
\ninto their own hands. This is also important to bolster the
\ncredibility of the security apparatus.<\/p>\n
This era of reform, it has often been said, is an era of the
\nsupremacy of the law. The law must be upheld in order to defend
\nthe human dignity of our people and protect their basic rights,
\nincluding the right to live. For this reason, the unnatural death
\nof every person -- particularly if it is the result of any
\ninhumane act of violence -- deserves to be thoroughly
\ninvestigated.<\/p>\n
We would like to remind everyone, as Foreign Minister Ali
\nAlatas has told us, that the international community is carefully
\nwatching what is going on in Banyuwangi. Imagine the damage that
\nour good image would suffer in the world if we cannot resolve
\nthis problem satisfactorily.<\/p>\n
-- Suara Karya, Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-killings-must-end-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }