A disturbing tendency

A disturbing tendency

Once again police posts have been attacked. As reported by the
media, two police headquarters, one in Polongbangkeng, Takalar,
South Sulawesi, and another in Bagansinembah, Bengkalis, Riau,
were attacked by mobs on Wednesday. This was the umpteenth time
that such an attack against police headquarters has occurred.
Last Aug. 3 the police headquarters of Pelabuhan Ratu was
attacked by a mob, and on Aug. 31 a similar incident occurred in
Pameungpeuk, near Garut, West Java.

The general impression of those earlier cases is that such
incidents are caused by inaccurate information reaching the
public, from rumors which despite their questionable credibility
have tended to incite people to anger. Another impression is that
people lately have tended to be easily provoked into taking the
law into their own hands.

In this context, the observation made some time ago by
Minister of Defense and Security Edi Sudradjat that mob
destructiveness has now already reached the threshold of
tolerance may be very much relevant. People tend to lightly take
the law into their own hands without even trying to obtain
complete and accurate information in order to better assess the
issue at hand.

Considering all of this, we appeal to people not to be too
trusting of information whose reliability is in doubt, even
though that information originates from people who are considered
respectable. Informal leaders in society should help urge the
public to be more rational rather than act on their emotions.
Besides trying to get an accurate picture of the situation, they
should also help find a solution that is acceptable to all.

In addition, we are convinced that the series of attacks that
have occurred lately against police offices will prompt
authorities to reflect on what has happened in order to enable
police to do a better job protecting and serving the people.

-- Suara Karya, Jakarta