Riots incited by disparity, scholars say

JAKARTA (JP): Observers have asked the government to look deeper for the causes of recent violence, saying that prevailing social and economic inequity is providing fertile soil in which communism can flourish.

The observers said that it was the inequity which should be addressed if the whole community wished to solve the problems left behind by the July 27 riots, that erupted following the forced takeover of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) headquarters by Soerjadi from his rival Megawati Soekarnoputri.

The government has blamed the unrecognized Democratic People's Party (PRD) for the riots, accusing it of communist-like activities.

"The gap between the rich and the poor has reached an alarming level, and it can become a fertile ground for communism," businessman Sofyan Wanandi said yesterday.

Speaking to reporters after attending the 70th birthday celebrations for former education minister Daoed Yoesoef, Sofyan said that as bad as they were, the riots did not have a serious impact on the government's development programs.

"The whole society, however, needs to introspect and evaluate how well we have achieved the goals of national development," Sofyan said. "The rioting showed that there's something wrong in our society, something which must be corrected."

Abdurrahman Wahid, chairman of the 30-million strong Nahdlatul Ulama Moslem Organization, seconded Sofyan's opinion.

Abdurrahman, better known as Gus Dur, said social and economic disparities have created an accumulation of psychological tension among people, which may be released by violence.

"Once the tension is released, the crisis is over. We, however, have to find out the real roots of the problems," he said.

He also mentioned people's poor understanding of the Armed Forces and insufficient reconciliation as causes of the unrest.

Military analyst Lt. Gen. (ret) Hasnan Habib deplored the riots and said that a complete resolution to the conflict in the PDI, which triggered the unrest, now depended entirely on the government

"The government shouldn't have recognized Soerjadi just like that. It should gather all of the conflicting parties and tell them to find an acceptable solution through dialog," Hasnan said.

Hasnan, however, believed that the Armed Forces could play an important role in reconciling the conflicting camps in the PDI.

Mass

Meanwhile, three youth organizations of Golkar announced yesterday their plan to hold a rally to declare their loyalty to the state ideology Pancasila and their disgust of communism.

The Pemuda Pancasila, the Organization of the Children of Retired Armed Forces Members and the Panca Marga will be mobilized with an expected 50,000 students, politicians, religious leaders and others at the Eastern Senayan Parking Lot in South Jakarta on Sunday morning.

Some 5,000 people have already gathered at the Hasanuddin Square in Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi. Students and activists of the local branches of some youth organizations declared their loyalty to the Pancasila and their abhorrence of communists.

The planned rally was also meant to display the youths' support for the way the government and the Armed Forces had handled the riots, according to Yorrys Th. Raweyai, the deputy chairman of the Pemuda Pancasila.

"The rioters never got grassroots' support," Raweyai said.

The politically well-connected Association of the Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals also stated yesterday its stance on the rioting and the PRD.

Chairman of the association B.J. Habibie, who is also State Minister of Research and Technology, delivered the statement to President Soeharto, and later told the press that the organization completely supported the government's actions against the rioters.

But Habibie also urged that all elements of society uphold the presumption of innocence until proven guilty regarding the riots by providing those suspected of involvement with due legal procedures.

Separately, the Communication Forum for the Alumni of the Association of Islamic Students and the Movement of the Indonesian Nationalist Students also called for respect of the principle of the presumption of innocence.

"Allegations of the rioters' links with the outlawed Indonesian Communist Party should be proven before the court," read the statement, which was co-signed by Judilherry Justam of the Islamic students alumni and Muchyar Yara of the nationalist students movement. (imn/16/32/20)

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