Clashes in campaigns

Clashes in campaigns

Emotions are high and tempers short among many participants in
the election campaign now underway. Campaign activities have
claimed many lives so far, either in traffic accidents or in
clashes between political rivals.

While political groups still have another week to send their
supporters to the streets -- letting their supporters do the
campaigning for them -- it isn't too late to evaluate the
situation and find ways to prevent more victims.

Campaign rallies, which were initially meant to be politically
educational, have become a show of force between political
contestants. For the two smaller political parties, the United
Development Party (PPP) and the Indonesian Democratic Party
(PDI), the campaign has been a medium to show that even though
they have had very little representation in the legislative body,
they are quite influential on the outside.

There have been five elections since 1971 and we have been
very successful in efforts to develop the economy. But social
justice and political development still lag behind. The people,
who are more outspoken now, have been frustrated by progress.

There is no equal treatment for all political contestants yet.
After so many elections, voters still ask who their
representatives are, in regencies as well as the central
government.

Meanwhile, the government has not been able to get rid of the
ugly reality of social and political gaps. Socially, corrupt
officials still flaunt their wealth. Politically, parties are not
allowed to open branch offices below the regency level while
Golkar, the government-sponsored group, is already ubiquitous at
local levels.

Latest trends also show that legislative and judicial bodies
have been increasingly nonresistant to the powerful influence of
the executive branch. Many people seem to believe that the
campaign is the best means of channeling their frustrations.

People tend to support a party they believe has been a
perpetual victim of the system, and want to see it have a bigger
say in governing the country. They find no other alternative
because unlike general elections held in other countries, no one
is allowed to censure the government, much less change it.

The authorities' repeated slogan says that "the general
election should only be won by the New Order," which means none
other than Golkar. This sounds like the door closing on any
significant change, while the world around us keeps on changing.
There are more and more developing countries, which are more
developed than ours, who can afford democracy.

This condition has boosted people's sensitivity. The riots
which have taken place in several Javanese towns since last year,
have shown that people are now more militant. Current campaigning
has shown how easily some are offended and dare face security
forces when they believe that their political groups haven't been
treated equally.

The government, from the beginning, has banned political
street rallies and has instead implemented political dialog, but
this has turned out to be unpopular. Authorities haven't been
able to prevent people, from a grassroots level, from taking to
the streets, because of their large number and unpredictable
spontaneity. Now, they can only handle the rallies and incidents
they produce with care.

In the long run, significant changes in political laws will be
quite necessary.