Looking for culprits

Looking for culprits

The statement made by the Armed Forces Chief Gen. Feisal
Tanjung, in Yogyakarta on Tuesday regarding the recent riots in
Situbondo and Tasikmalaya is certainly interesting, especially as
it was followed by a related statement by the widely respected
National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM). According to
Gen. Feisal Tanjung, the authorities have identified those
responsible for inciting the riots and have collected nearly
enough evidence to arrest them.

The Armed Forces chief refused to name the suspect or suspects
on the grounds that it would be premature, but his statement
gains a good measure of credence in light of a Komnas statement
on the same issue. In a written statement signed by its chairman
Munawir Sjadzali and released Wednesday, Komnas said its fact-
finding team had found evidence that gave cause for "strong
suspicion" a third party was involved in the riot that rocked the
West Javanese town of Tasikmalaya the day after Christmas.

"Based on the facts that were found -- among other things
banners and leaflets inciting people to protest -- there is a
strong suspicion that there is a third party who set in motion
this social disturbance," Komnas said. It advised the authorities
to try this third party as quickly as possible "to prevent damage
occurring on this scale in other cities". Media accounts of the
Tasikmalaya riot said it was sparked by reports of police
brutality against several teachers from a Moslem religious
school. Churches, shops, factories and police posts were reduced
to ashes and at least two people died in the riot.

In a similar upheaval in the East Javanese town of Situbondo
in October, more than 20 churches and many other buildings and
properties were stoned and set ablaze by a mob of thousands. The
rampage was reportedly sparked because people thought the five-
year jail term demanded by a prosecutor for a Moslem accused of
blasphemy against Islam was too lenient. Five people died in the
riot.

Now, with the issuance of the two statements, investigations
into the two incidents are about to enter a new phase. At this
stage, for most of us, the first question is: Who might the
mastermind (the third party) behind the riots be?

In the past, the usual culprit named in such cases was the
Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). Could it be that after being
outlawed for 30 years remnants of the PKI are still active? More
recently the Democratic People's Party, a small group which the
government does not recognize, was blamed for inciting last
year's July 27 riots in Jakarta. However, in the trials of those
accused of being involved in the riots the prosecutor did not
even mention the Democratic People's Party.

Whatever the case may be, we agree the possibility of third-
party involvement in the recent upheavals deserves to be
thoroughly investigated. Are social and economic disparities
indeed at the root of the recent riots? Or were they politically
motivated? Could it be that there are groups or individuals among
us who are desperate enough to adopt the view that the end
justifies the means? Whatever their motive, riots and other mass
disturbances are, at best, a most frightening way of trying to
achieve one's end. And if the motive is political, the situation
may become outright dangerous to the nation.

It could be that more effective channels are needed to express
the growing aspirations in our society. It is high time we all,
particularly those in positions of power, display a genuine
sensitivity toward the feelings, pressures and problems that
exist in our society. As the recent upheavals have shown us,
without safety vents it is all too easy for plotters to
manipulate those pressures, causing them to build and erupt.