Keep violence at bay
Although the deepening of the feeling of popular dissatisfaction that has come in the wake of Monday's fuel price hike was more or less expected, a word of concern is appropriate at this point regarding the turn which developments appear to be taking. It seems that, not satisfied with airing their discontent within the limited confines of their own campuses, student protesters have in the past week been attempting to break out to take their grievances on to the streets for a wider audience to hear. Quite possibly, too, more than a few student protest leaders now feel that the time has come to broaden the base of their movement by involving the public at large.
Such an attitude is easy enough to understand. Indeed, seen from the students' point of view it would be the obvious next step to take as a broadened base would clearly add force to their voice of dissent and give it a greater chance to be heard. Yet, the risks that such a move invite are just as obvious. Military commanders have repeatedly stated their concern that attempts by the students to take their protests to the street could easily open the door for less scrupulous and less principled individuals or groups to manipulate the students' movement for their own ends. As a result the well-intentioned students' actions could easily get out of hand, which could lead to chaos and anarchy.
Student leaders are well advised to take such warnings seriously. A few incidents that have taken place in several places in the past few days reveal how easy it would be for unruly -- or worse, hostile antireformist -- elements to subvert the students' protest movement and throw it out of control. In the past couple of days, for example, the North Sumatran city of Medan has been rocked by violence as mobs not only battled police but looted stores and burned cars. Scores of police officers and protesters were reported injured in the incidents.
In Jakarta 14 students were reported injured yesterday alone in violent clashes with police, who lobbed tear gas canisters and rubber bullets into the rock-throwing crowds of protesters. Violent clashes occurred earlier in Bandarlampung, Surabaya, Yogyakarta as well as Jakarta and other hotbeds of student unrest. But while noncampus elements have so far been rarely involved, the danger of this happening as the protests begin to spill out into communities is far from imaginary.
The best advice that can be given at this point is for all the parties involved to exercise wisdom and restraint. Given the pent-up passions that are involved and the growing hardships which the majority of Indonesians will have to suffer, it may be difficult to contain the student's actions to their campuses. Every effort, however, must be made to ensure that the proreform movement remains peaceful and that it is not subverted. To do this, student leaders must be aware of the dangers that any broadening of their movement into the community at large may involve.
Student leaders and campus authorities can do much to keep the student protest movement orderly and free from subversion. Community leaders, legislators, security authorities and everybody else with a genuine concern for this nation's future can do their part to calm the situation. Through the authority of their positions and the respect which they command in society they can help pave the way toward a better, more democratic Indonesia by keeping the present reform movement on its appropriate, non-violent course. Great and lofty ideals are not realized by force or violence.