Hunt for red suspects

The speed with which security officers captured the leader of the Democratic People's Party (PRD), Budiman Sudjatmiko, and other PRD activists who have been blamed for inciting the July 27 riots is an indication that the authorities are serious about their crackdown on the previously unknown group. Cynics may say that the relative ease with which these young people -- mostly in their twenties -- were arrested was due to their inexperience and lack of funds compared to, say, former Golden Key boss Eddy Tansil, who, with billions of rupiah, has managed to evade the authorities' dragnet for over three months since his surprise escape from Cipinang prison in Jakarta last May.

In any case, it is too early to expect that the "PRD hysteria" which has swept the nation for the last fortnight will soon die just because Budiman Sudjatmiko and his group have been captured. Some had hoped that the capture of the PRD activists would mean that the legal process would begin to determine whether the PRD was the culprit behind the July 27th riots and whether they had planned to topple the government. Instead, one can foresee a much bigger and wider crackdown as stated by several Armed Forces' (ABRI) leaders. This obviously increases and extends tension in our society.

For instance, in his statement last Monday Armed Forces Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung said that ABRI would hunt down the "masterminds" behind Budiman Sudjatmiko. Feisal said that Budiman and the other PRD activists in custody only represented a "front line" threat, therefore the masterminds behind them must be crushed because they could breed "new troublemakers like Budiman". He also cautioned people to beware of "anti-Pancasila" elements.

It is obvious that the hunt for "red" suspects, which could possibly lead to the pursuit of government critics, will continue for some time and everybody must be prepared for its impact. Many Indonesians, particularly the younger generation who did not experience the Indonesian Communist Party coup in 1965, or know of the trauma it has caused the Armed Forces, may be appalled by the apparent overzealousness of the military in hunting the "red" suspects. In many cases the authorities appear to be ignoring the presumption of innocence -- A slight indication that one has "leftist" leanings is enough to justify an arrest. Hence, we support the call for authorities to respect the rule of law that no one be branded guilty, or "diehard", before he or she is proven to be so in court.

We are also disturbed that, if this development goes unchecked, the whole campaign could lead to dangerous grounds where the nation splits into factions. The growing number of rallies of support for the military's actions against the PRD in the last two weeks, coupled with an oath of allegiance to the government, have hastened people to follow the trend lest they become suspects themselves. This practice is, of course, unhealthy for our nation-building efforts since one's loyalty should not be judged on the basis of mere statements of allegiance alone.

We are sure that nobody wants this campaign to get out of hand and grow into a witch-hunt that would not only lead this nation deeper into crisis, but damage our international reputation as well. The growing number of foreign countries who have expressed concern over our current situation should not be treated as mere nuisances or seen as interference in our domestic problems. We should see it as another indication that the world and its values have changed and as a nation which has committed itself to join the global family we cannot escape these universally accepted rules and values.

The PRD issue has meanwhile diverted our attention from the root of the problem: the takeover of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) chairmanship from Megawati by Soerjadi, which led to the holding of the free-speech forum at the PDI headquarters on Jl. Diponegoro, Jakarta. The forum upset the authorities to the extent that they condoned the forced takeover of the headquarters by Soerjadi's thugs, which led to the July 27 riots.

Our guess is that in the current climate, while the nation prepares to celebrate its 51st year of independence on Saturday, only a few of us will listen to our consciences and be sensible enough to ponder the question: Are we on the right track?