A dangerous sluggishness
Some of the extremely dangerous problems this nation is facing really need to be solved immediately. The most dominant cases include the kidnapping of activists, the May riots in which acts of arson, looting and the rape of women and underage girls took place, and the shooting of four Trisakti students prior to president Soeharto stepping down.
Since President B. J. Habibie decided almost two months ago that these cases warranted investigation, very little light has been shed on the mysteries. While a number of police personnel are being tried in a military tribunal for the deaths of the Trisakti students, it seems the public needs to exercise great patience in waiting for answers to the other two tragedies.
The problems are still cloaked in mystery, although Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto disclosed on Monday that there was some indication that military men were involved in the activists' disappearances.
Alas, the statement raises another question: Why is ABRI being sluggish and dragging its feet with the investigation, especially since foreign news media have named those they believe masterminded the kidnapping and torture. It's worth noting that ABRI has never denied the foreign reports.
The public certainly has every reason to question ABRI's lack of action because there have been so many cases in which ABRI closed ranks and protected its own. Many people believe there were military officers involved in the 1993 violent murder of Marsinah, a labor activist in East Java. This is but just one example.
It would not be so alarming if the probe only affected ABRI alone. But the slow investigation has a direct impact not only on the fate of this nation but also on the outside world's trust in ABRI, and more importantly in the government. What is regretful is the bleak picture painted by the clumsiness and lack of ability in the investigation.
As long the cases of kidnapped activists and the mid-May riots remain unsolved, every citizen will continue to live under the threat of becoming the next victim of armed abductors, arsonists, looters and bestial rapists. The fear will not only haunt Indonesians of Chinese descent, some of whom left the country after the riots and have not returned home to resume their business activities even though the nation badly needs them as well as foreign investors. They are reluctant to return because they do not believe that our security apparatus is capable of ensuring their safety.
Although Wiranto has repeatedly said this country is a safe haven for everyone, for many people the May nightmare was too real and vicious an incident to be erased by a statement. People will only have peace of mind if those involved in the tragedies are brought to justice.
As long as the suspects are still at large and free to go on with their criminal activities it will be very hard to envisage this country rebuilding its collapsed economy. And billions of dollars from the IMF, the World Bank or friendly governments will not pull us back from the brink of total bankruptcy as long as the culprits are around.
The slowness in the probe will not only lose ABRI the people's trust, it will also breed a situation in which the nation becomes the helpless casualty.
ABRI needs to act swiftly because the clock is ticking faster.