Playing by the rules

Playing by the rules

Skirmishes broke out between student protesters and security
troops in Bandung on Wednesday, only days after West Java
military authorities issued an official ban on demonstrations.
Similar cases of student defiance have occurred with considerable
regularity in the past, so there seems to be no reason for worry
or surprise. In the past, such acts of defiance usually resulted
in even tighter clampdowns by the authorities and a gradual
dwindling of the ardor on the part of the students -- at least
until the next worthy cause arose, by which time the authorities
had usually let down their guard.

One could ask whether history is about to repeat itself and
little, if anything useful will come from the recent events in
Bandung. Wednesday's incident began when students from several
universities in Bandung converged on the state-run Padjadjaran
University campus. They then demanded that all government
officials suspected of involvement in the Rp 1.3 trillion Bapindo
loan scandal be prosecuted.

However, since similar protests in past weeks led to ugly
clashes between students and security officers, causing, among
other things, huge traffic jams in central Bandung, the chief of
the West Java Siliwangi Military Command, Maj. Gen. Muzani
Syukur, considered it advisable to forestall further
demonstrations. All street protests were, as of May 27, banned in
West Java, although demonstrations were permitted as long as they
remained restricted to campus grounds.

Wednesday's clashes reportedly occurred after the hundreds of
students assembled at Padjadjaran University attempted to break
through the security cordons with the intention of marching
towards the provincial legislature to air their grievances. After
a tense stand-off, the students returned to the campus, where
they read aloud their demands.

The Padjadjaran University Student Senate subsequently issued
a "statement of attitude" with regard to the incident,
emphasizing that demonstrations are a valid means of expression
in a democratic system, particularly since the conventional
channels of popular expression are, as the statement says,
"defunct" and incapable of voicing the true aspirations of the
people. Rather than ban demonstrations outright, it says, the
authorities could instead provide guards or escorts to prevent
them from getting out of hand.

What we find worth noting here is not so much that the
statement comes to the defense of demonstrations as that it
proposes a more or less reasonable alternative towards bridging
the gap. The statement not only displays reason and rare
moderation on the part of the students, but may indeed offer a
means for finding a solution to the problem. At this stage of our
political development, after all, differences of stance and
opinion are accepted, and so, as a consequence, should be their
airing, though obviously within the bounds of what is commonly
considered acceptable.

The basic principle contained in the Padjadjaran University
student statement concerns that of freedom of assembly, which is
guaranteed by the Constitution. The point which is often made by
the authorities -- that for the sake of order this freedom must
be subject to regulations -- is accepted, although not to the
extent that the principle itself is set aside. This second point
made by the statement is a strong indication that the need for
order is well understood. After all, no well-intentioned
individual or party can possibly gain from chaos.

All this indicates that there is still ample room for dialog
between the students and the authorities. Aside from the fact
that it is better to know the true undercurrent of thought that
exists in our society, we, as a nation, have through our leaders
already voiced our commitment to promoting a healthy democratic
climate in this country. Gradually, all Indonesians in all
positions from all walks of life will have to learn to play by
rules to which many of us are not yet accustomed. Occasional
frictions are bound to occur, but if the basic principles are
understood and reason prevails, there should be no need for
worry.