A lesson from Ujungpandang

A lesson from Ujungpandang

Last week's student protest action in Ujungpandang against the
increase in public transportation fares took its toll. The death
of five students -- whose bodies were reportedly found floating
in a river -- and the fact that hundreds were injured, has caused
grief among the people of the South Sulawesi city.

The cause of death of the students is now being questioned.
Did they die as a result of acts of violence by security
personnel, or were their deaths caused by other reasons -- say,
for instance, because they fell and drowned in the river when
they were chased by security officers?

The authorities of the Sulawesi Bakorstanasda agency for
security and order have formed a team to look into the
circumstances. A number of security officers who were on duty at
the time of the protests will be questioned.

Many people have appealed that less confrontational methods
are used when policing demonstrations such as occurred last week
in Ujungpandang. For their part the demonstrators, students in
particular, should abide by the rules and regulations, because
when victims fall, and particularly when lives are lost, it will
be hard for any investigator to find the exact cause of the
disaster. The objectivity of the investigation is always put in
doubt and not everyone will be satisfied with the results.

The incidents in Ujungpandang should serve as a good lesson to
the authorities, the people and the security officers. If the
Ujungpandang mayor's decree regarding the fare increases had been
considered with greater wisdom in advance, it would not have to
have been suspended after the incidents occurred.

In the present situation it seems that everybody is now
waiting for the results of the investigations by the Sulawesi
Bakorstanasda into the causes of the deaths of the five students.
An open announcement after an objective investigation,
accompanied by firm action, would, to a certain extent, satisfy
people.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta