Banjarmasin tragedy

It took the nation a little while to realize that Friday's unrest in Banjarmasin is turning out to be one of the worst in the history of modern Indonesia. The tension that followed in the South Kalimantan provincial capital after the rioting, combined with poor communication facilities, prevented outsiders from realizing the real extent of the tragedy until Sunday. Only as workers began clearing the debris of the gutted buildings did we learn that the casualty figure had reached a horrific proportion.

By yesterday, more than 136 charred bodies had been found inside gutted buildings, and the death toll was expected to rise. Most of the bodies were found inside burned supermarkets. Since the stores apparently closed as soon as the riot began and workers were sent home, police concluded that most of the victims were looters trapped inside the buildings.

This fact did not make the incident less horrific. Any kind of violence, especially of the scale we saw in Banjarmasin, must be condemned. The resulting casualties is a tragedy, whether they were innocent bystanders or looters.

The Banjarmasin incident, which was sparked by clashes between supporters of Golkar and the United Development Party (PPP), brought a sad end to the 27-day election campaign. Before Banjarmasin, many people had already pronounced this year's election campaign the most violent in the history of the New Order government. This turned out to be an understatement. The death toll surpassed the nationwide campaign-related deaths, estimated at 126.

Despite the violent nature of this year's campaign, the Banjarmasin incident still came as a shock. Most people, including the security apparatus, had thought violence was likely to erupt in big cities in Java. On the last day of the campaign in Jakarta, for example, 20,000 troopers were deployed to secure the capital. There were few signs, if any, that a major eruption would occur in Banjarmasin.

It is even more disturbing to recall that the government, which organizes the election, had introduced stringent measures to prevent precisely the kind of violence that erupted in Banjarmasin. The authorities knew that frictions between supporters of rival political parties could grow into violence. Zoning was introduced, and outdoor political rallies were limited. Police and soldiers were deployed to keep supporters of rival parties apart.

As with any national tragedy of this scale, a thorough investigation is merited, not in order to find scapegoats, but to prevent a repetition, in Banjarmasin, or elsewhere in Indonesia.

In fact, there are several institutions that must now launch investigations, whether independently or jointly. The General Elections Institute, for one, owes the public an explanation of what triggered the riot. The House of Representatives, now in recess, should launch an investigation of its own. Although there are no immediate indications of human rights violations, the National Commission on Human Rights, given its integrity and the respect people have for it, could help with an investigation, official or otherwise. The Armed Forces might also want to tighten up intelligence, especially now that South Kalimantan officials said the riot was not a spontaneous occurrence. Golkar and PPP should also give an account to the public about the behavior of their supporters.

Finally, since violence also occurred in many other parts of Indonesia during the election campaign period, the Banjarmasin tragedy is all the more reason why the nation ought to re-examine not only the campaign rules, but also the election and political system.

In the present rigid political system, the campaign period has became a time to let off steam. Campaign time is the only chance people have every five years to air their grievances. Tightening the campaign rules, as the government tried to do this year, only deprived the people of that opportunity. From what we saw of this year's campaign, there is a lot of pent-up rage that under the present system could only be channeled through violence.

The Banjarmasin tragedy has given the nation plenty to reflect on, as well as plenty of homework. But the nation's biggest task now is to find a more appropriate political system that is democratic and less prone to violence.