On riot mastermind

On riot mastermind

My congratulations to Mr. Robin Peter Holman for his analysis
on this subject under the title Why look for masterminds? in Your
Letters on Sept. 1, 1998. What he wrote is exactly on many
Indonesians' minds, but the people never ventured to speak out,
bulldozed by outcries from the victims.

But why has the government agreed to an investigation into the
mastermind? This attitude is a time-honored Indonesian strategy
to accommodate opposing opinions, so as to deflect a conflict.

The May riots in Jakarta did not need a mastermind, since they
were preceded by riots in Banjarmasin, Situbondo and Tasikmalaya,
all based on frustrations, high prices of consumer goods and the
ongoing collusion between Chinese traders and the officialdom. As
an example, for many years small traders protested against the
building of supermarkets and departments stores in the Pasar
Minggu area, but they were built and opened for business anyway,
thanks to collusion with local officials. They were burned down
during the May riots. It is greed at one end and exploding anger
on the other.

Proof of this were the recent riots in Cilacap, a quiet
fishing port on the south coast of Java. Ten trawlers, worth a
half billion rupiah each, were burned to ashes by an angry mob.
For years these trawlers equipped with "tiger" nets depleted the
fishing grounds, leaving very little for the traditional
fishermen. Trawlers using tiger nets were banned by law from
operating in Indonesian waters a couple of years ago. But they
are still operating, due to collusion between Chinese shipowners
and local officials. The riots, although regretful, were a result
of these practices. Unless we can get rid of collusion, which
blossomed under the former government, it will happen again and
again, except now the door is open to speak out.

SUMARSONO SASTROWARDOYO

Bogor, West Java