Acts of violence still rampant

Acts of violence still rampant

From Rakyat Merdeka

The attack launched by a group of people garbed in black against an activist of the Democratic People's Party (PRD), Budiman Sudjatmiko, the wounding of Yakobus Kurniawan by a mob attack while he attended the International Labor Day on May 1, threats of destruction of the PRD office and the searching of its activists have obviously proved that there is a radical tendency at the grassroots level. The same tendency was proved in an attack by a group of youths self-styled the Anti-Communist Troops Movement on students marching to the legislative assembly of Yogyakarta to make National Education Day on May 2 in Yogyakarta. The attack left four students injured.

Regarding the above incidents, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) is of the view that:

a. The acts taken by this group of people is evidence that political hooliganism is gaining ground again. Violence is committed under the name of a certain group or a certain religion while groups of people foster solidarity among themselves by manipulating ethnic and religious identity to attack other groups. This is obviously against the principles of human rights and democracy in which the freedom of expression and opinion are prioritized as inherent to individual rights.

b. The flourishing of groups practicing violence and committing terror against activists of movements and students is not a natural process but is obviously the continuity of the reproduction of the terror and violence machines designed to crush the ongoing process of democracy. One can easily guess that this continuous terror is nothing but the continuity of the politics of repression and authoritarianism pursued by forces that feel threatened by the reform and pro-democracy movements.

c. Viewed from the pattern and model of organization and the military-styled acts perpetrated in the field, these groups enjoy strong support so that they can openly and freely carry out their activities. Such patterns remind us of the incident in East Timor, in which groups of armed civilians perpetrated terror and physical violence against other groups.

d. Recently rampant practices of violence, giving the impression of social unrest has become a strategy pursued to destroy the ongoing process of democracy.

In view of these facts, Kontras wishes to:

1. remind people of all walks of life to be alert to antagonistic policies against others in the community under the name of a particular religion or ethnic group.

2. call on people of all walks of life to be alert to forces which are opportunistic in taking advantage of situations of civic unrest.

3. condemn all forms of provocative practices and violent acts which may trigger social unrest by manipulating religion and ethnicity.

MUNARMAN

Coordinator of Kontras

Jakarta