Government urged to prevent violence

Government urged to prevent violence

JAKARTA (JP): Observers are sounding alarms over the spate of
violent unrest which has occurred across the country over the
past few months and demanding the government take concrete
measures to prevent further flare-ups.

Religious scholar Alwi Shihab and sociologists Paulus Wirutomo
and Sardjono Jatiman, speaking separately to The Jakarta Post,
agreed that steps such as revealing the identities of the
instigators of the unrest and taking legal actions against them
would go a long way toward defusing tensions in society. In
addition, they suggested the government sit down with religious
leaders and discuss ways to prevent the manipulation of sensitive
religious issues to ignite unrest.

Shihab, a visiting professor at Harvard University's Divinity
School, said that unless handled appropriately the recent spate
of unrest would further undermine President B.J. Habibie's
credibility.

"I have said over and over again that religious harmony must
be cherished ... all of the other scholars have also said the
same thing. And yet the government has failed to (respond to the
warnings)," he said.

He reminded Habibie that chaos and unrest caused great
suffering to the people and undermined Indonesia's image
internationally.

"The riots are definitely politically engineered. By whom ...
we may never know for sure. This creates deep confusion among
people. I myself am frustrated," said Shihab, who is also deputy
chairman of the National Awakening Party.

He said he was worried that the "organized and continuous
unrest" would continue. "I'd say the ones creating this chaos are
a nonreligious group who want to destroy religious harmony here."

However, he insisted that despite the strong religious
overtones of riots in places such as Ambon, Maluku, the unrest
was not triggered by animosity between different religious
groups.

"Ambon, and Maluku in general, are known as religiously
harmonious areas. I never saw a tendency for Muslims and
Christians there to harm each another."

Shihab called for all Christians and Muslims to join hands and
stand up for unity. "These kinds of battles are our biggest
enemy. The government may not take them seriously, but it's time
for the people to stop them."

Asked to comment about allegations, including those leveled by
Muslim leader Abdurrahman Wahid, that former president Soeharto
was behind some of the recent unrest in the country, Shihab said,
"Well ... it shouldn't be easy to accuse someone. Even
Abdurrahman has retracted his statement and said that he believed
Pak Harto was not behind this recent unrest ... he (Soeharto) has
now put his life in God's hands."

Paulus, a professor of sociology at the University of
Indonesia, noted how people today have lost three values in life:
guilt, shame and fear.

"Scholars have repeatedly warned about this. The government
seems to be deaf ... they (officials) only think of how to stay
in power."

"People have lost those (values) ... because of the worsening
crisis, a government which lacks legitimacy and the distrust of
security forces. All of these things, plus political conflicts
between the elite, have been manifested in the widespread riots,"
Paulus said.

Destroying a civilization is much easier than building one, he
added. "What's happening in Ambon as well as in other parts of
the country is actually a logical consequence of the piling up of
problems such as mass unemployment."

"Ethnic and religion differences (blamed for the unrest) are
just excuses. The unemployed have developed a violent tendency
because of desperation, hunger and loss of status. They have
nothing to lose," he said.

Paulus conceded that not all problems should be blamed on
Habibie, who has faced huge tasks during his short term in
office.

Sardjono, a rural sociologist at the University of Indonesia,
said the government could have handled the unrest better and
prevented it from spreading by drawing up a map of areas which
were prone to rioting and preparing itself to handle unrest in
these areas.

"Maluku, for instance, is a very harmonious area ...
historically. Kupang (of East Nusa Tenggara) is the same. But
there are areas which are traditionally prone to unrest."

"But as it turns out, the government does not have a good
handle on this situation. Why? Because elite groups in the
government only care about gaining (power) ... especially ahead
of the coming election."

"All I can say is let's start an intensive dialog," he added.
(edt)