Not militia but dialog

Not militia but dialog

From Merdeka

The worsening safety conditions in the capital city have been used as the justification for establishing a militia (ratih = rakyat terlatih = trained civilians). In the current difficulties of the political, legal, economic and social situations, the idea of establishing a militia increasingly confuses and worries many people and gives rise to the question of whether there is such an emergency situation that the population too must be trained to safeguard the country.

In the framework of solving current problems, what is required is not a militia but a national dialog in which the government, the reformists and non-government forces participate. Through the dialog a democratic agreement will be reached that will be respected by the majority. However, it is not possible to attain an effective democratic agreement to find solutions for various sensitive national problems if it is not backed by honest intentions, a sense of justice based on nationhood, high rationality and openness, both on the part of the government and the reformists.

Additional to the national dialog, the establishment of a national committee to respond to the crisis with members from the government, the House of Representatives, the Armed Forces and the circle of non-governmental figures will constitute a concrete step in addressing the national catastrophe.

SUNARTO SUKMA ALAM

Surabaya