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