Everybody's duty

It may seem strange to describe the neighborhoods disrupted by fighting around the Kampung Rambutan bus station on Wednesday as lucky, but that is exactly what they are.

Although lives were lost, property destroyed and bus services brought to a complete standstill, the disruption caused was nothing compared to the carnage that might have been expected on the basis of recent experience in other parts of Indonesia.

While confusion still exists over what precisely happened, it appears that the clashes grew out of a scuffle between a bus conductor and a pickpocket. Two people died, one person sustained serious wounds and a number of buses and taxis were burned or damaged.

As common as the initial cause of the ruckus may be, Jakartans should consider themselves lucky that the incident did not escalate into an altogether more serious confrontation. As recent experience in Ambon, Maluku, has shown, it only takes the smallest of disturbances to set off a chain of death and destruction that could have serious long-term consequences for the nation.

The catalyst for many of the recent outbreaks of mass violence in Indonesia has been an explosive cocktail of religious, racial and ethnic discord, resentment and rivalry. This combination provides the perfect stomping group for troublemakers and provocateurs seeking to agitate the populace and start riots on a grand scale.

Jakarta is an ethnic and racial melting pot par excellence which brings together peoples of different beliefs, values and prejudices. The authorities must therefore be commended for containing the Kampung Rambutan incident and preventing clashes from spreading to other parts of the city.

In this context, we wholeheartedly wish Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso success in his stated intention of ridding the city's bus stations and public areas of hoodlums and criminals. There can be no doubt that doing so would remove a major source of trouble in Jakarta.

Nevertheless, given the apparent ease with which minor disagreements can turn into mass rampages these days, the responsibility of maintaining security cannot be entrusted solely to the authorities -- no matter how professional or well respected they may be.

For one thing, the transition toward democracy has left the authorities bound to act in accordance with the law. This prevents arbitrariness of action, but it also slows down the process of enforcing the law.

Furthermore, trouble is not only started by hoodlums and criminals. Quarrels between neighbors have the same explosive potential in these troubled times.

It appears that the best, although far from infallible solution to this quandary would be to actively involve the public in maintaining law and order. To this end, existing neighborhood associations could be assigned a more active role in supervising and monitoring developments on the streets, without, of course, infringing on people's rights to privacy and freedom of movement.

Although the public is entitled to demand the highest degree of integrity and professionalism from those in charge of security, the situation in which we now find ourselves is such that each and every citizen must be willing to assume responsibility for preserving peace and upholding the law. Violence benefits no one.