Acts of violence on the rise

Acts of violence on the rise

From Pikiran Rakyat

Acts of violence have been on the increase. There are news stories about somebody who has been killed following a quarrel over Rp 100,000, then there is another story about people taking the law into their own hands and burning a thief to death after they were caught stealing red-handed. Stories abound about knifings, shootings and armed robberies.

On Sept. 1, 2001, unidentified men shot Ansor activists, including the vice treasurer of Ansor Youth Movement, injuring three of them. Still fresh in our minds was the murder of the Supreme Court justice who had handled the Tommy Soeharto case.

Looking at these crimes, I conclude that the country is no longer a safe place to live comfortably. Revenge and business rivalry may lead to assassinations, especially because of the ease in obtaining a gun license, purportedly for self defense purposes.

If people do not feel safe any more, will they still fully trust law enforcement agencies? They won't. People will only trust law enforcement agencies if they demonstrate their ability to enforce the law.

AYUDIA

Bandung