Flare-up in Ujungpandang
Flare-up in Ujungpandang
Reports of the violence that rocked South Sulawesi's
provincial capital of Ujungpandang last week have been confusing.
Three students died during four days of rioting, reportedly
because they fell into a river while being pursued by soldiers.
According to Lt. Gen. Soejono, the Armed Forces chief of staff
for general affairs, no shots were fired by the soldiers.
According to the latest press reports quoting a member of the
Ujungpandang chapter of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute, at
least six have died, while scores of other protesters -- some
reports say more than 200 -- were injured.
The riots erupted on Monday, when thousands of students took
to the streets to protest the 62-percent hike in public
transportation fares that went into effect there this month. The
initially peaceful protest turned violent when the students
clashed with riot police and troops who tried to stop the
protesters from marching.
What happened exactly is still not clear. Apparently the
security personnel tried to push the students back toward their
campus where they could be contained. Then, according to Lt. Gen.
Soejono, several students fell into a river near campus, "not
because of shots fired by the security officers but because they
tried to jump a fence".
That is all that can be reconstructed thus far. One could ask
how mature students could have died from falling into a river.
Perhaps they were already injured when they fell, though Soejono
denies that force was ever used. The questions will hopefully be
answered when more information comes to light.
The violence that consumed several young lives is shocking and
we should ask ourselves if the cause was really worth the
sacrifice. Perhaps the tendency towards strong action is innate
among young people in that part of the country. One might recall
a similar violent protest that broke out in Ujungpandang in 1987
over a law requiring motorists to wear helmets.
It could also be the spirit of the times. One only has to look
at the frequent worker strikes, citizen protests over disputed
land plots and student demonstrations in front of the House of
Representatives to conclude that protests are occurring with more
and more frequency in this country.
This week's violence in Ujungpandang forces us to ask whether
we are really prepared to face emergencies of this kind without
causing serious casualties. Perhaps our security officers need
more appropriate equipment and training to help them cope with
protests in a more restrained manner. In the wake of so much
violence, we think all sides would agree that no family problem
should be solved by sacrificing our own children.