Bakom-PKB concerned over recent tragedies

Bakom-PKB concerned over recent tragedies

JAKARTA (JP): The Coordinating Body for National Unity (Bakom-
PKB) has expressed deep concern over the recent tragedies that
have increased uncertainty and a feeling of peril among minority
groups.

Bakom-PKB deputy chairwoman Rosita Noor told journalists that
the shootings at Trisakti University and the riots that rocked
several cities in the country were evidence that society's sense
of unity and nationalism were deteriorating.

"The Trisakti tragedy, in which four students were killed and
many others seriously injured, proves that the military has yet
to respect human rights. While riots where hundreds of people
died in fires shows that those of Chinese descent have been made
targets of looting," she said.

She said that in the riots, certain groups had sowed envy and
discrimination against the minority Chinese descents whose
department stores, shops and houses were looted and burned.

"With these incidents and the economic hardship, national
unity is now at stake and in the end it could lead to
disintegration," she said.

Rosita called on the people, especially the political elite,
to give clear direction in the nation's political life so people
could feel a sense of certainty and safety.

"We need a national consensus to seek a credible, widely
accepted leader to lead the country, one with a clear political
direction so that we can soon get out of the political and
economic crises," she said.

Bachtiar Ali, a deputy chairman of Bakom-PKB, expressed
pessimism over the emergence of new political parties, saying
that the nation could regress to the political climate of the
1950s.

During that time, a continuous political struggle transpired
as the many parties in existence jostled for political control.

Bachtiar acknowledged that the existence of just three
political organizations contesting elections had not been
perfect, and many felt that the situation had failed to channel
people's aspirations.

"But if we now want to go back to the multiparty system, the
nation could be divided," he said, with a warning about receding
into innate divisive forces and sectarianism.

He argued that Indonesia ideally only needed a very limited
number of political parties, citing practices in Germany which
has only three main political parties and the United States with
two. (rms)