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.