Rudini blames government for widespread violence

MALANG, East Java (JP): Political observer Rudini believes the widespread violence in Indonesia is caused by the government's heavy-handed approach to handling sociopolitical problems.

Rudini, a former home affairs minister now heading the Institute for Strategic Studies of Indonesia, said Saturday the public was adopting the violent, coercive tactics the government often used to settle disputes.

He made the remarks in a seminar organized by the Indonesian Catholic Students Association.

Rudini was commenting on the soaring cases of crime and violence, such as student street brawls in major cities, which are increasingly worrying the public.

"In Jakarta, robbery and student brawls happen almost every day. University students are also involved in street brawls," he said. "It's difficult to imagine the nation's future if college students are involved in street brawls."

Rudini said the government also resorted to violence when dealing with sociopolitical conflicts. This approach, he argued, heightened tension rather than solved problems.

He implied that a case in point was the way the government handled the internal dispute within the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) earlier this year.

The National Commission on Human Rights, in its report on the July 27 riot in Jakarta, said that the government helped a rebel faction take over the PDI headquarters from the supporters of ousted leader Megawati Soekarnoputri.

"The government sets aside persuasive approaches because such a policy is considered inefficient," Rudini said.

He criticized the government's unwillingness to initiate dialogs, saying that this posture teaches the public to take the law into its own hands.

"The majority of our society is simple minded. They take their leaders as their models. A thousand speeches on corruption, therefore, are a waste of time if the speakers commit the same crime," Rudini said to rousing cheers from congress participants.

Rudini said that many government officials are not ashamed of their mischievous conduct. "They intimidate people and act as lords instead of the people's servants as they are supposed to," he said.

Another speaker, Rufinus Lahur of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, shared Rudini's view, saying that the country's youths are dismayed by inconsistency between their leaders' words and actions.

"Pancasila upgrading courses for students ranging from elementary school to post-graduate level serve as little more than rhetoric," Rufinus said.

He also criticized the government for failing to implement the political openness it initiated.

"The government always assumes that the people are not sufficiently prepared for political openness. Don't you think this premise should be reversed?" he asked. (25/amd)