End the violence
End the violence
Though we hate to admit it, the events of the past few months
are making it more and more difficult to dispel the notion that
is prevalent among a growing number of observers here, that
Indonesians, as a people, are prone to violence. In the past two
weeks alone scores of people have met violent deaths, either
during fights among civilians or in confrontations between
protesters and security personnel.
For many residents, the violence that followed the fatal
shootings in Jakarta last May of four Trisakti University
students remains a traumatic memory that will be difficult to
ever forget. In Jakarta alone, more than 1,200 people died during
the three days of violence. Scores of others were injured, and a
still unknown number of women were sexually assaulted.
In the din of those events, earlier cases of violence appear
to have been pushed into the background of our collective memory.
Yet, they also demand our attention, especially given the fact
that in several of these earlier cases, elements of the state
security forces were or were strongly believed to be involved.
Notable cases include the riots of July 1997 that erupted
after the forceful takeover of the Jakarta headquarters of the
Megawati Soekarnoputri led faction of the Indonesian Democratic
Party, by a rival, government-supported, faction.
Acts of violence committed by both ordinary citizens and
security officers have also been quite commonplace during general
elections, events that the New Order era government liked to
describe as "feasts of democracy". During the run-up to the 1997
general election, several political activists were kidnapped and
reportedly tortured by elements of the military, in order "to
safeguard the success of the elections" and the subsequent
session of the People's Consultative Assembly.
However, our history of violence goes back much further than
the past several years. The now defunct New Order regime, in
fact, was born out of the bloody turmoil that swept the country
in late 1965. This wave of violence wiped out the once-mighty
Indonesian Communist Party, brought down the Sukarno regime and
gave birth to the era of Soeharto's rule. It is not surprising
that a regime born of violence would perpetuate violence as a
means to achieve its goals.
Given such a history of violence, it is understandable that
Indonesians are now bracing themselves for more of the same, as
the nation readies itself for new elections scheduled to take
place in May or early June of next year. Unfortunately, such
fears are not unfounded. Incidents that have taken place in
various areas during the past several years have shown that many
Indonesians, especially those in urban areas marginalized by
inequitable economic development, are easily provoked into
committing acts of violence.
Against such a background, the calls by several of our leaders
for serious efforts to improve communication and eventually
achieve a reconciliation between the various components that make
up our society deserve to be taken seriously.
Though skeptics may argue that events of the past months put
Indonesians on a level with some of the most violent peoples in
the world, we believe there are still enough cool-headed men and
women among our political and community leaders to make an
effective national reconciliation possible.
At the very least, the growing calls for reconciliation
deserve to be heard. The future of this nation may depend on our
willingness to forgo violence and respond to these calls.