A show of wanting sincerity

A show of wanting sincerity

Extraordinary. This is the expression that best describes both
the findings of the TGPF (Joint Fact Finding Team on the May
riots) and the reaction from high-ranking cabinet officials to
the team's report. The TGPF findings, arrived at after three
months of labor and made public on Tuesday, are indeed
extraordinary.

We greatly appreciate the efforts made and the integrity of
the team's members. All the shortcomings of the report
notwithstanding, the team's courage in stating facts that are
painful not only for the government but also for the nation,
deserves to be commended.

No less interesting, however, is the response given by the
authorities concerned, who in their reactions have shown
themselves lacking in good judgment concerning this matter. As in
chorus, they generally regretted the TGPF's apparent digression
from its originally assigned role of fact-finding to analyze
events as well. But how can facts have any meaning without
contextual analysis?

This rejection (of the TGPF report) was already evident at the
time when the findings were announced, as none of the cabinet
ministers who signed the decree that established the team in
attendance.

We find this attitude most disturbing as it appears to show
the government's insincerity about solving the problems that
affect the interests of the people at large. If the authorities
cannot properly appreciate the work of a team which the
government itself has formed, how could they ever be expected to
acknowledge the work of non-governmental organizations which are
active in many other fields?

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta