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