End those brawls

Clashes between groups of citizens continue to occur and are even showing a tendency of growing more serious, both in terms of the numbers of people involved and the degrees of violence. Last Sunday night, for example, groups of people in Pademangan Timur, North Jakarta, became embroiled in a mass brawl. The fight lasted until the early hours of Monday. Three people suffered knife wounds in the melee. Two days earlier, two people died in Tanahtinggi, Central Jakarta, when groups of citizens clashed.

Jakarta is but one example. Similar clashes have also occurred elsewhere. The causes of these conflicts are numerous and range from the political to the ridiculous. Unfortunately, these conflicts are hard to settle. The desire for vengeance which they leave on both sides often lingers for many years. The recurring fights between groups in the Manggarai area of Central Jakarta provides a graphic example.

Observers of social affairs, though, say the reasons that lead to such conflicts are often not as simple as they are made to seem in the media. Tough social and economic living conditions are a major factor that causes people to be easily offended, a situation that frequently leads to brawls. The rising unemployment rate among young people in overcrowded poor neighborhoods is a factor that needs to be addressed. Unless these basic underlying factors are properly handled, the frictions will continue to exist, no matter how often the authorities try to bring the conflicting parties together. This means that efforts of a more strategic nature than merely extracting pledges of peace must be made. One key solution would be to provide these people with jobs, although this may be difficult to do under the present circumstances. However, must we continue to stand idly by and allow our fellow citizens to kill each other?

-- Suara Karya, Jakarta