No panacea for election campaign violence

No panacea for election campaign violence

The continuing violence, especially in Central and East Java,
has concerned many people. Political scientist Arbi Sanit from
the Jakarta-based University of Indonesia talks to The Jakarta
Post about the issue.

Question: How do you see this phenomenon?

Answer: I think there has been a shift from mass social riots
into mass political ones especially at the grassroots level.

Mass social riots, as you see, are triggered by three major
things: problems of poverty and disparity, problems of
bureaucracy and problems of legal certainty. These have become
very acute problems for those at the grassroots level, because
they see no way out. As a result, after facing these problems for
almost 30 years, they experience a sense of dissatisfaction,
deprivation and even frustration.

These unpleasant feelings can easily explode into a form of
violence anytime and by any small amount of provocation. Personal
quarrels, humiliation by religious teachings or a kyai (Islamic
preacher), beatings by police, etc., are capable of driving
people to riot. Such is what happened recently when there was
disobedience of political ethics in the Central Java city of
Pekalongan.

What happened in Pekalongan was nothing less than people
humiliating other party supporters. As you see, Pekalongan is a
strong base for the United Development Party (PPP). Golkar's
leaders who held a mass rally without notifying local PPP figures
was seen as a humiliating action.

Moreover, the mass rally involved a famous dangdut singer,
Rhoma Irama, who was previously a well-known PPP campaigner. This
sparked the anger of local people.

Therefore, the humiliation, and the disobedience of political
norms and ethics, caused the mass riots.

Q: But there is no written regulation or agreement on norms and
ethics, is there?

A: That's right. Ethics and norms are not written down. However,
there should be an understanding about such things, otherwise
parties will do things just as they want. The Pekalongan case has
proven that ignorance about such things can trigger mass
violence.

Of course you have to keep in mind that the basic drive behind
such violence are the three factors I mentioned before. Those
acute problems show that almost anything can trigger violence.
That's the core problem.

If nothing is done about it, I'm afraid additional violence
will occur in the future. People won't be afraid of anything,
including prison terms, or even death threats. Nothing will stop
them.

Q: What has to be done then?

A: Since problems underlying such violence are ingrained, not
much can be done to welcome a peaceful election. As you see, the
election will take place in only a few weeks. There is no way to
heal 30 years of suffering people have endured in just one month.

The best thing that can be done is probably to give promises
to the people.

Q: What promises?

A: Promises that the government will do something to solve these
acute problems. The recent decision to handle the poverty problem
on a national scale, for instance, is a good example. Even though
there was nothing new to it, since there were no practical steps
to accomplish it, but it was still a good step. It just needs to
be focused.

What we need, therefore, are basic policies that take sides
with the poverty eradication program, such as giving priority to
the development of slum areas rather than to areas close to
government officials' residences. Such steps would help eliminate
people's frustration.

Q: What about campaigning activities? Can anything be done about
them?

A: In this case, it would be better for Golkar to keep quiet
about its target of votes. It's okay to say that they are
determined to win the election but not the number of votes they
could acquire. This applies not only to Golkar chairman Harmoko,
but also to other Golkar cadres throughout the country. This will
defuse tension among societal groups, because every party member
won't feel pressure from their superior to gain votes as much as
possible.

Q: Some said that what surprised them most was the fact that
violence occurred at a point in time when Golkar has a lower
profile. How do you explain this?

A: As I said, anything can spark violence these days, because of
the three acute problems in society. Even though Golkar seems to
have been slowing down -- not at the grassroots level -- the
violence keeps occurring.

So let's not put more stress on society and avoid anything
that can add additional stress. What some Golkar leaders have
done, by demonstrating their proximity to certain influential
religious leaders like Gus Dur (leader of the 30-million strong
Nahdlatul Ulama), for example, has caused stress on PPP members.
Golkar visits to PPP strongholds in Central Java have also had
similar effects.

Q: How do you explain the fact that such violence is only
happening in Central and East Java and not in other regions?

A: It's in the two regions that Golkar lost a significant amount
of votes in the previous election. That's why they launched heavy
campaigns in the two areas. Everything is done to reclaim lost
votes, including using public figures and launching the so-called
"yellowization" program (painting public utilities yellow, which
is the party color of Golkar).

It's unfortunate that certain local governments, like the one
in the Central Java city of Surakarta, sometimes overreact. They
seem to forget that they are the government of all people and not
just of a particular party. (swa)