Participating in violence 'is harmful to youngsters'

JAKARTA (JP): Psychologists have expressed deep concern over the active role of children in clashes between security officers and students on main thoroughfares in the city last week.

Interviewed separately by The Jakarta Post on Saturday, Frida Mangunsong from the University of Indonesia and Irwanto from Atma Jaya University said the children's involvement would only lead the young teenagers becoming aggressive later.

According to Frida, the teenagers, most of whom were street children, could consider taking part in the clashes with security troops an exciting experience.

Some of them may see such occurrences as a great opportunity to take revenge against security personnel, who often act harshly toward street children, she said.

"If such instances occur over quite a long period of time, it is not impossible that one day we will have a generation that only relies on physical power to solve any kind of problem," Frida said.

The expert on education psychology also said the fact that adults, the real protesters, were encouraging children to become aggressive toward security could have a detrimental effect on the children.

"The adults, for example, only watch and sometimes praised the children's violent acts. The adults might not realize that the children, after committing acts of violence, often consider themselves heroes," she said.

Sharing the idea, Irwanto of Atma Jaya said children did have a right to become involved in politics as it would help determine their fate and lives.

But nobody, including children, has the right to be violent toward the authorities.

He said adults who were continuously involved in actions against troops must have a simple black-and-white way of thinking.

"They think that all security officers are cruel and therefore should be opposed. They're not aware that life is complex," Irwanto said.

He also suggested the media help shield children by not publishing pictures or broadcasting footage of youngsters attacking officers. This way they would not learn to consider such acts as heroic.

Otherwise children across the country could start to believe that physical violence or murder was a common thing, worried the senior researcher of the center for societal development studies at Atma Jaya University.

Frida said she considered it a pity that some adults encouraged youngsters to behave violently.

"It's dangerous. The adults should instead prevent little boys from taking part in any violence," she explained.

She added that most adults were unaware that they were giving bad lessons to young people.

Since last year, some children have accompanied their elders in violent acts like clashes with troops, arson and looting in the capital.

During the tension between anti-Habibie protesters and troops on Friday, a young boy aged about 10 delivered a speech using harsh and crude language against the government and the military in front of a strong cordon of military personnel.

He was surrounded and applauded by students, one of whom helped the boy use a megaphone.

The scene was later broadcast on TV.

Seemingly proud with the support, the boy then pointed at the military personnel, who were about three times taller than him, and verbally abused them in vile language.

Earlier, some children were seen hurling stones at troops, who responded by firing tear gas canisters. (ind/bsr)