Are rallies productive?

Are rallies productive?

From Media Indonesia

To mark the fifth year of the reform movement, university
students held street rallies demanding that Megawati and Hamzah
Haz step down. These rallies reflected the strong spirit of
reform among university students, although, perhaps only
ceremonially.

It is clear that university students were the leaders that
started the drive for reform five years ago. We also cannot
ignore the fact that not all of the reform agenda has been
implemented. However, street rallies demanding that Megawati and
Hamzah Haz step down are counterproductive for two reasons.

First, right now, most people in Indonesia are more concerned
with how to keep the nation united in solving conflicts across
the country, such as the war in Aceh, than they are about
changing the government.

Second, although the government under Megawati and Hamzah Haz
has not fulfilled all the demands of the reform movement, at the
moment Indonesians need a strong government to face various
foreign and domestic threats to the country's integrity. To be
strong a government needs the support of most of its people.

Therefore, it shows greater maturity, perhaps, to offer only
conceptual solutions for the next year or so. Mobilizing the
masses for street rallies may lead to moments of anarchy that the
political opponents of the current government may cash in on.

LINDASARI

Jakarta