Catholic students warned to beware of provocation

JAKARTA (JP): Vice President Try Sutrisno warned Catholic Students Association activists yesterday not to be provoked by campaigns aimed at discrediting the government and stirring up political chaos.

Try said people, whom he did not identify, were out to create a false impression that the situation in Indonesia was far from an ideal location in which to do business because mass violence was so widespread.

"These people are trying to achieve an ideal Indonesia according to their own concepts. They are busy socializing it," he said, as quoted by association chief Ishidorus Riza.

The association's leaders met with Try to air their concerns over present state problems, including recent ethnic and religious riots in several places.

The vice president called on the public to be wary of political moves intended to discredit the government for certain minorities' political ends.

According to Ishidorus, Try shared the students' concern over certain groups' campaign for a "proportional" doctrine, which demands that the majority should play a majority role in politics and the economy.

"This principle is incompatible with the Indonesian spirit which shuns domination by the majority and tyranny by the minority," he said.

In response to the students' concern that government and military figures had blamed recent riots on anonymous third parties, Try said the authorities had identified the so-called "masterminds".

The naming of anonymous third parties, Ishidorus said, had created public tension because it led people to speculate who the culprits might be.

Major riots have erupted in several provinces. In Situbondo, Tasikmalaya and Rengasdengklok, all on Java, the main targets were Christian and Chinese properties, including churches, temples, shops and factories.

The violence spread anxiety among the minority groups. Christian leaders have called on the government to conduct a transparent investigation and take harsher measures against rioters.

In West Kalimantan, the bloody clashes involved the indigenous Dayaks and migrants from Madura. On Feb. 21, people in the East Timorese town of Ambeno went on a rampage, killing a Bugis trader, burning 80 houses and forcing more than 350 migrants to flee.

Quoting Try, Ishidorus said that some groups hoped that by damaging Indonesia's image, foreign investors would be dissuaded from doing business in Indonesia.

If events pan out as designed, he added, the Indonesian economy would weaken and the government would have to compromise with the interest groups' demands.

The Catholic students believe that slack law enforcement contributed to the increasing incidence of mob violence.

"Many people in society no longer trust the legal system because they believe it does not really work," Ishidorus said.

All of the riots, he said, was triggered by criminal acts. They mainly involved people wanting to exploit the minor incident for their personal interests, he said.

The activists also lamented the numerous controversial decisions taken by the Supreme Court and lower courts. (pan)