Naked arrogance
Naked arrogance
The nation veered perilously close to chaos over the weekend
as students demonstrated their anger over the killings of their
peers at the hands of security officers. Many members of less
privileged groups of society milled on the streets, ready to take
advantage of the strained political situation to commit arson,
vandalism and other criminal acts. Thankfully, the students
managed to push them back.
Youths in many provincial cities joined student demonstrations
which received sympathy from the public. People, including
community leaders and political activists, again felt insulted by
the trigger-happy attitude of the troops and callous arrogance
among their leaders in handling the peaceful demonstrations.
Friday's bloodshed is a sad reminder of the killing of four
students at Trisakti University in West Jakarta in May, when
young people in many parts of Indonesia were at the peak of their
struggle to topple Soeharto, the iron-fisted ruler of the country
for 32 years.
Like other killings involving officers, a shameful shroud of
darkness has been thrown over the Trisakti case, with military
leaders assuming Indonesians are an oblivious, short-memoried
people.
Today the people say enough is enough. They have called for
the resignation of Gen. Wiranto, the defense and security
minister and Armed Forces commander, the person who they hold
responsible for the deaths of 12 people, including six students,
during the demonstration and other violence.
The question facing the nation today is how many more lives
will be lost in the blind ambition to preserve the status quo.
To the authorities, student demonstrations are a subversive
activity. This points to the core of the problem; the rigid,
anachronistic mentality among the power holders. There persists
an abhorrent attitude in which the authorities have lost their
grip on social realities.
Students are clearly disappointed by the government and the
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), which convened a Special
Session last week. The students' demand for total reform has been
denied proper attention by both.
Like his mentor, the despotic Soeharto, President B.J. Habibie
refused to sincerely acknowledge student aspirations. MPR members
remained blissfully ignorant of the bloody struggles occurring
only a few kilometers from their building. Despite their token
gestures in decrees, they failed to completely absorb the
students' ideas.
Like the Habibie administration, MPR members also failed to
pay adequate attention to recent proposals, made by four reform-
minded leaders, which were sufficiently moderate for the present
difficult situation.
Habibie, who has seldom demonstrated leadership qualities
since he assumed the presidency as Soeharto's handpicked
successor in May, displayed a jarring detachment from the tragedy
despite his profession to having monitored the situation. He did
not even bother to visit the wounded in hospital or pay his
condolences in person to relatives of those killed.
His lack of sensitivity was most evident on Saturday. In a TV
broadcast, he said he had issued instructions to Wiranto; many
people expected he would add that he had fired the commander.
Instead, the President said he had ordered the military to take
stern measures to crack down on unrest. Once again, students
voicing their aspirations were painted as subversives.
With such an inconsiderate attitude in these troubled times,
his transitional government is dragging the nation toward
divisions and collapse. Hope remains, however. Habibie can
rectify the situation if he is brave enough to reshuffle his
Cabinet, firing Wiranto and other ministers who have demonstrated
unyielding opposition to the reform movement. It will allow him
to include new members who can truly put the country on the path
to reform.