A war of colors

Colors are loaded with emotion, or so psychologists and artists tell us. And whether or not we are aware of it, artists and decorators regularly use this emotional power to evoke certain emotions or to create or enhance the ambiance of a certain place.

We are afraid, however, that there is nothing artistic about the controversy that broke out last week in the Central Java city of Surakarta (Solo) over what color public buildings and facilities should be. On the contrary, the controversy appears to be about something that is of much greater national significance than merely a difference in tastes.

The "war of colors" began in the normally placid Javanese city when activists of the local branch of the United Development Party (PPP) swarmed around the central city square -- the Alun- Alun -- to repaint yellow public buildings, trees and other public facilities white. The United Development Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) are the two minority parties whose existence is recognized by the government.

But why, one may ask, would the local administration spend public money to paint trees and public buildings yellow in the first place? The local authorities argued yellow is the color of the city's mascot, a bird called kepodang. Last year in celebration of Indonesia's golden jubilee as an independent nation, the trees and buildings were painted yellow.

But yellow, of course, is also the color of the ruling political group Golkar. Last year the yellow paint did not only touch Surakarta but stretched across many other Javanese towns and cities. Although many jokes have been made of the incident, the "yellowization" campaign in Surakarta appears to have taken a more serious turn.

The mayor of Surakarta has threatened to take legal action against the PPP activists unless they restore the newly whitewashed trees and buildings to their former yellow color. The local party activists have not only said they would gladly go to court over the matter or face imprisonment, they have received the support of Central Java's provincial board of the party.

According to PPP's Surakarta Secretary Zainal Ma'arif, 143 lawyers from Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung and Bogor have made themselves available to party members if or when they have to appear in court over the issue. Unrelated groups and members of the community have also taken up the PPP lead and have repainted yellow facilities white. Elsewhere in Central Java, other PPP branches have said they would do the same.

At this point the authorities concerned should be strongly advised to let wisdom and calm judgment prevail. To a casual observer all this may seem like a comedy, some kind of theater of the absurd that is being staged for us as a run-up to the general election. In fact it appears to us that the Surakarta "war of colors" could yet be another manifestation of a tendency that appears to be growing in our midst -- a willingness to oppose what is felt as unjust.

We are afraid that with the current mood prevailing in our society, a stubborn clinging to the legality of power on the part of the authorities could be easily interpreted as arrogance. The possible consequences of this are difficult to imagine after the outbreaks of unrest we have experienced in the past months. Besides, it is not difficult to believe that an unremitting campaign by any of the three contestants well before the allotted campaigning time could backfire. It is well to remember that power and force are no longer the omnipotent tools that they once were to persuade people.