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