A drift towards violence?

Less than three months after the authorities put down the July 27 riots in Jakarta, reports of mass violence are again jolting the nation. This time, the rampage took place in the East Java town of Situbondo, 160 kilometers east of Surabaya. According to reports, five people were killed in the riots and an undisclosed number of churches and Christian schools were burned and damaged. According to the Communion of Churches In Indonesia, churches were also burned in the nearby towns of Besuki, Panarukan, Banyu Putih, Asem Bagus and Wonorejo.

On the face of it, the triggering factor in both cases -- the first one in Jakarta and the second and most recent one in East Java -- appears to be the same: protests by a group or groups of dissatisfied people which spread and assumed wider dimensions. If one major dissimilarity is to be identified, it is, perhaps, the fact that the Jakarta riots were a case of violence triggered by violence, while the latest East Java case was provoked by crowd dissatisfaction over a prosecutor's demand in a court of justice, which was considered too lenient.

An official clarification of the most recent incident has yet to be issued. However, initial reports stated that the riot broke out during the trial of a local Moslem from an obscure sect who is accused of blasphemy against Islam. The frenzy reportedly began when the prosecutor demanded a five-year prison term for the defendant, with the crowd clamoring for the death sentence.

Motives aside, this case appears to be only the latest in a string of violent incidents that are fueled by public anger being vented in a variety of ways. Student brawls and soccer hooliganism, both of which appear to be happening with increasing frequency, are relatively minor cases in point, distressing though they are. All acts of lawlessness and violence should be deplored. But when highly-sensitive issues such as race or religion become involved, the situation can become truly frightening.

The authorities are well aware of the dangers to national unity and cohesion such a situation brings. However, before we, as a nation, can undertake to do what needs to be done to effectively improve the situation, at least two urgent questions need to be answered: why the apparently growing trend towards mass violence and how to prevent this trend from growing? The standard answers could be offered: promote our innate Indonesian sense of harmony and tolerance, maintain our traditional peaceful religious coexistence and uphold the rule of law; praiseworthy principles that have been expounded to exhaustion.

We certainly are not lacking in promulgating and maintaining good principles. We believe that all of us, particularly those in positions of power, can best do our part by simply practicing what we preach. Let us show, by concrete example, that we respect the rule of law and that we all stand equal before the law. Let us show, again by concrete example, that we are a tolerant people who respect the views and beliefs of others. In short, let us honestly put into practice all the lofty principles that are contained in our constitution and Pancasila ideology.

This is a good deal easier said than done. After all, we all have our own goals and interests which we would like to see realized. But it is a step that must be taken. Let us hold back on the rhetoric and return to a climate of common sense. This growing trend toward lawlessness and violence cannot be tolerated -- unless we do not mind seeing our country gradually slide into disarray.