Rights abuse in Ujungpandang
Strong indications have been found of human rights violations during the protests by students in Ujungpandang. That, in part, was the gist of the statement made by the Secretary-General of the National Commission on Human Rights, Prof. Dr. Baharuddin Lopa, before his departure from Ujungpandang for Jakarta on Friday.
The previous day, the Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs, Soesilo Soedarman, appealed to all parties concerned to be patient. "There will be no cover-up. If in the ongoing investigations errors are found in the application of (anti-riot) procedures by security officers, measures will be taken against those who are guilty," he said in Jakarta. The minister, apparently, found it necessary to appeal for patience because demonstrations of solidarity with the Ujungpandang students, questioning the handling of the case, broke out in a number of places. In Bandung, clashes occurred between students and security personnel. In several other cities similar demonstrations also occurred.
Basically, the many actions of solidarity flared because of the prevailing disarray of information. The official Armed Forces statement said three students died because they drowned when they were chased by pursuing officers. This explanation was apparently seen as premature. As a result, rumors began to circulate about the way in which the security officers tried to control the students, about armored cars and troops invading the campuses and acts of violence by security officers that resulted in fatalities.
It is this confusion which needs to be immediately cleared up. The statement by the Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs that measures would be taken against whoever was found guilty is a good start. There has to be no cover-up. Only by giving a candid explanation can the emotion-provoking issues be dealt with.
There is another lesson contained in this incident: how risky it is to try to put down a protest by force. Many previous cases have already demonstrated the truth of this. Violence always invites more violence. At the very least expressions of dissatisfaction can easily spread. The Marsinah case and the Nipah incident should have taught us not to repeat the same mistake again. Therefore, we should all try to restrain ourselves and let the authorities conduct a thorough investigation of this incident.
-- Republika, Jakarta