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.