Religious leaders asked to help rid the city of rioting

JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso said on Monday that he would invite religious leaders, experts and representatives of various institutions to discuss and analyze an upward trend in the outbreak of riots in the capital to help arrive at a comprehensive settlement.

"I can't understand why people tend to kill each other, destroy and burn anything, whereas actually they know that in the end they themselves will be affected by their own conduct," he said.

He hoped that the gathering would formulate concrete steps to solve the problem.

"I do understand that there is no simple way to settle this complex problem which should be seen from various angles like sociology, religion, security and others."

"That's why input from people of various backgrounds is needed," he said.

The city has repeatedly been hit by major riots over the last six months, following the political upheaval which forced former president Soeharto to quit on May 21.

The biggest was the bloody May riot which was said to have claimed over 1,200 lives.

A similar riot, even though it was on a much smaller scale, occurred again on Nov. 14, following the fatal shooting of students and the masses by soldiers and police officers at the Semanggi cloverleaf on the previous day.

According to the city administration data, 16 people, including nine students, died during the incident.

The latest riot erupted in the Ketapang area, West Jakarta, on Monday. It was reported to have been sparked by clashes between rival ethnic and religious groups on Sunday, following a brawl between local residents and civilian guards of a nearby entertainment center.

At least 13 people died in the clash.

Sutiyoso said he believed that the religious leaders played a big role in solving the problem as most people have trust in their conduct.

"I think people will listen carefully to their religious leaders, so it will be more effective if the latter convey messages to their followers to restrain themselves from doing bad things, like killing and looting," he said.

The governor said the people of the country needed a kind of moral rehabilitation and the religious leaders were the party suitable to effect that.

Head of Golkar's Jakarta branch Tadjus Sobirin said that the recurring riots showed that officials of both the central government and city administration had lost their credibility.

"They have repeatedly appealed that people do not loot, burn or do other bad things, but in reality riots continue to happen. It shows that people no longer listen to the officials," he said.

In the Ketapang incident, for instance, Tadjus said that the problem was rooted in the city administration's inconsistency in their promise of wiping out gambling dens in the city.

"The people do not see any intention on the part of the administration to fulfill the promise. Gambling spots are still scattered across the city and there's no indication that the administration is taking serious measures against them.

"Moreover, some places are reportedly guarded by certain people having a close link to the authority. People have become bored with the administration's empty promises," he said.

He hoped that the Ketapang incident would become a precious lesson for the administration to be more consistent.

"From now on, the governor should be tough enough with his subordinates to help govern the city," he said. (ind)