Here come the hooligans
Hundreds of soccer hooligans are here again making trouble and causing hatred and bitterness among people. These young men, who claimed to be supporters of their home soccer team at this weekend's national Soccer League Finals, behave like creatures from other planets. They see themselves as above the law, act how they want and show very little respect for the local people.
The exact number of hooligans is not known as most of them came from East Java. While traveling between Surabaya, their provincial capital and the country's second largest city, and Jakarta, these people did not buy train tickets and damaged 35 cars.
East Java authorities had earlier tried to screen the hooligans at various railway stations and in the streets but many managed to sneak onto the trains.
When they arrived in Jakarta on Thursday, the police detained 630 of them after many had been caught stealing food and extorting money from people.
This is not the first time hooliganism has occurred in Java but this year the number seems to have significantly increased. This ugly behavior started in early 1995 when a supporter was killed in a riot during a match between teams from Surabaya and Yogyakarta.
Last year, supporters of another Surabaya team went berserk on their way home after witnessing their team's defeat in Jakarta. They not only stoned cars and buildings on their way from the stadium to the railway stations but also robbed people during stopovers and destroyed the train. The state-owned railway company said the vandals caused Rp 319 million (US$122,690) in damages.
They seem like professional hooligans ready to cause chaos. But they are not. Many of them are pure soccer fans with a strong sense of loyalty to their local team.
When they heard the authorities' call for supporters to attend the Jakarta match, many of them believed that by showing their sense of patriotism they deserved to get everything free. So they headed for Jakarta. Many had little or no money in their pockets but plenty of provincial pride.
Did they become so wild for this simple reason? This phenomenon is nothing new in other parts of the world. We should not forget that soccer is a sport which has the greatest capacity to evoke emotion and animosity among supporters of rival teams.
In the Yogyakarta riot in 1995, many believed that local fans had been inspired by the hooliganism in Europe. The worst example of sport hysteria was seen in 1983, when 30 soccer fans were killed at a match between Juventus and Liverpool in the Heysel Stadium in Belgium during the European Championship match.
Following the Heysel Stadium incident, England was banned from playing on the continent for several years. The harsh punishment forced the British government to introduce tough measures in a bid to eliminate unruly behavior among soccer fans. The action was successful as there have been fewer soccer riots.
The authorities here need to enforce stricter measures to stop hooliganism. People have a tendency to join any crowd whether it be for a sporting event or a campaign rally.
They seem to need somewhere to express their hopes and release their emotions. And they do not seem to care about breaking the law. There are many examples of serious crimes that may have been forgotten by the authorities but not by the people.