A call worth noting

Although a few months have passed since a major upheaval last rocked this country, the statement issued over the weekend at the conclusion of a three-day annual meeting of the Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI), deserves to be welcomed.

Among other things, the statement called on Indonesian Moslems, who make up the overwhelming majority of this country's population, to help establish peace and national unity and to prevent social unrest. Indonesians, the statement said, should draw a lesson from the recent unrest and exercise self-restraint.

The council's concern is understandable since the religious component -- as is also true of the ethnic and racial components -- was one factor which stood out in most of the riots. This is particularly true in the case of the incidents in Situbondo, East Java and Tasikmalaya in which a number of churches and other houses of worship were attacked and razed by mobs. And although the context was somewhat different, religious and ethnic elements also stood out in the bloody incidents in West Kalimantan in which more than 300 people were reported killed.

An official account of those incidents is yet to be given. But it is safe to say that none of the presently known and officially recognized social, political or religious groups or organizations had a direct hand in instigating the unrest. Government officials have said that "third party" instigators were behind the incidents, and although skeptics may find that an excuse for a scapegoat -- an impression that has unfortunately been frequently given by unsubstantiated official allegations in the past -- they have gained a good deal of credibility after similar statements were made by officials of the widely respected National Commission on Human Rights.

This being the current situation, it would be interesting to know who, or what, triggered those incidents. But until an official clarification is given, a no less interesting question to ponder is why people are so easily incited to committing acts of violence. An interesting parallel was drawn by the chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights, Munawir Sjadzali. A burning match dropped on wet leaves would do no harm, he said. But when the leaves are dry, that same match could easily cause a conflagration.

We can only guess what Munawir Sjadzali had in mind when he mentioned his allegorical dry leaves, but such social afflictions as the prevailing social gap -- the disparity between rich and poor -- and the injured sense of justice that exists in our society, must be among them.

Curing those ills, then, would go a long way in helping to prevent social conflagrations in the future. In the meantime, people can prevent themselves from becoming the pawns of those who seek to use discontent to promote their own interests. In this respect we believe the Indonesian Council of Ulemas, with the prestige and influence which it enjoys, has made a valuable contribution to calming the situation.

But the task of bringing about peace and stability is one that belongs to every member and every segment of our society. Every individual citizen can do his or her part by exercising restraint and tolerance, the authorities by upholding the principle of good governance, the judiciary by maintaining those of fairness and impartiality. Even though such an ideal situation is difficult to attain, it is worth striving for since it is one that will benefit us all.