Law that sparks riots

Law that sparks riots

For the outgoing House of Representatives, its final days were
apparently the best opportunity for it to demonstrate its
arrogance and political egotism.

Some House members might have heard of the noisy public
reaction to the security bill that they were at the time
deliberating, but they opted to turn deaf ears. This is
especially true with the Golkar faction, which dominated the
House, itself the last product of Soeharto's iron-fisted rule.

Had the legislators, who owe their positions to a dubious
general election, had the slightest sensitivity toward the
people's aspirations, they would have left deliberation of the
bill to the new House, which will start working next month.

Now the Habibie regime has to take responsibility for the
unrest and count the loss of life caused by the blind ambition of
the House. Opposition to the bill was not only demonstrated in
Jakarta, but also in other provinces.

Youths from other towns came to Jakarta, the seat of the
central government. It is all too easy for the military to say
that troublemakers from other places caused the strife, but many
people have clearly expressed a fear that the shadow of military
brutality, made possible through the new law, looms large.

There may have been looters who managed to sneak into the
ranks of angry young protesters, just as Jakarta Military
Commander Djadja Suparman expressed concern over yesterday.
However, everyday people are also worried about the prospect of a
wide-scale riot breaking out. Based on past experience in Jakarta
and other restive provinces, it is likely that the military also
poked its nose into murky waters, because the more disastrous a
riot is, the more likelihood of military involvement.

The military has all the means at its disposal for this: the
opportunity, the authority, the technology and invisible hands to
cause trouble. The people of Aceh, Maluku and East Timor can
attest to this.

But those who have healthy ears -- whether they be regular
people, officers or thoughtless politicians watching the riots
from a distance -- can hear loud and clear the voices demanding
that Habibie think twice before signing the controversial bill
into law.

If the House members appear not to care about the consequences
of their dangerous game, Habibie needs to remind himself that the
state security bill was taken out from the drawer of Soeharto's
state secretary and dusted off. The minister, Moerdiono, said he
had kept it there for a decade because he had foreseen that it
would provoke public anger if it was deliberated by the House.

If Habibie really has discarded the mantle of his
predecessor's regime as he claims, this would be the perfect
opportunity for him to prove that he is no charlatan. Anything he
does in this critical situation will surely have an impact --
negative or positive -- on his designs to keep the presidency.

If he refuses to enact the bill, it could very well serve as a
life buoy in his dream to retain his position. At the very least
it would improve his image. That Golkar chairman Akbar Tanjung
has also urged Habibie to be wise enough not to enact the bill
shows that even the man whose party held a majority in the House,
and who therefore played no small part in its approval, sees the
more serious dangers that lie ahead. He clearly wants to wash his
party's dirty hands of the whole thing.

Now is the time for the President to show his wisdom and save
the people, and himself.