Latest violence blamed on inequity and modernization

Latest violence blamed on inequity and modernization

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesians are fast becoming part of a
"frustrated society" prone to violence and must begin looking for
solutions that go to the root of the problems, two political
observers said yesterday.

Loekman Soetrisno, a professor from Gadjah Mada University in
Yogyakarta, and Hasnan Habib, separately attempted to analyze the
bursts of violent rioting that have occurred in the country over
the past several months.

"Our people are becoming more violent because of the great
social, economic and political pressures our nation has been
exposed to," Loekman told The Jakarta Post.

"In addition, our people don't have a mechanism whereby they
can engage in open-minded discussions."

"We've used a mechanism that has not really touched the root
of the problem. For instance, we've been taught to cooperate but
there's no actual cooperation among people," said Loekman.

He blamed the power holders and their "habit of seeking
scapegoats" as something that has indirectly taught people the
wrong way to deal with problems.

Hasnan Habib, a former ambassador to Washington, blamed rapid
modernization. He said the process has not been accompanied by a
fair distribution of prosperity and therefore led to economic
gaps and violence.

"This culture of violence that has spread to all layers of
society is a combination of historical inheritance and the
process of modernization," Hasnan told Antara yesterday.

Nations born out of a revolution such as Indonesia and
Vietnam usually become "tough nations," said the retired
lieutenant general. "Whether we realize it or not, we inherited
violence from the revolution and this has affected our social
system."

At the time of the revolution, he said, people "acted first
and thought later... We haven't really freed ourselves from this
mind-set, which is why there are groups who 'hit first and talk
later' even now."

The legacy can be overcome if community leaders work to
improve the situation, he said.

"They should first have a broad knowledge of history and what
modernization is, and make sure law enforcement is fair," he
said.

The two observers commented on the recent attacks by thousands
of people on a number of churches in East Java, where five were
left dead and dozens of buildings damaged. They also pointed to
other cases of violence, including the July 27 riots in Jakarta
and murders which seemed to have been triggered by petty
quarrels.

Loekman singled out the case of Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin, a
Yogyakarta-based journalist, who was murdered in August. The case
remains unsolved despite promises by the police to apprehend
those responsible.

Even in Yogyakarta, where people were once known for their
friendliness, "you can't talk any longer," he said. "There's such
a great degree of frustration felt by the people... we lose our
patience easily."

Hasnan said that economic development has brought instability.
"Those with poor economic power are exploited by the stronger,
which is evident when people's houses are demolished for
development projects," he said.

"It creates disappointment... in this developing country. The
situation may trigger violence because our people are not yet
very well educated," he said. (swe)