Keep violence at bay

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.