More trouble ahead

Law and order is irretrievably breaking down in Indonesia. Even the most casual observer of the Indonesian scene will agree that there has not been a time like this when the slightest provocation is enough for wanton destruction and bloodshed.

After a long weekend of sectarian slaughter in Ambon on Maluku, villagers have torched a large, export-oriented pig farm on Java. By comparison with some other bouts of violence in the country recently, these two incidents were mild. However, university students are poised to resume their massive demonstrations against the government in a continuation of their struggle against the New Order of which President B.J. Habibie is undeniably a part. The demonstrations were stopped for the month- long Ramadhan fasting which ended with last week's Eid al-Fitr festival.

It was the students' demonstrations which sparked off massive riots and toppled former president Soeharto late last year. Student protests have far greater potential than rural discontent in stirring up massive unrest and are probably eagerly awaited by a section of the military looking to reimpose tough, Suharto- style control over the archipelago. This, more than anything else, has been feeding suspicions that many incidents of violence in the countryside have been instigated by this same section of the military.

However, the spontaneity of some events suggest that villagers in remote areas are merely taking advantage of the breakdown in law and order to exact their own revenge for perceived wrongs. There will be many more such incidents before sanity returns to the country. The longer the uncertainties in Indonesia, the more protracted will be the regional financial crisis.

-- The Hong Kong Standard