Stop this lawlessness

The assurance which the public received on Tuesday from the chief of the National Police, Gen. Surojo Bimantoro, that his men would no longer tolerate any acts of anarchy perpetrated wherever, be it in Jakarta or elsewhere, or by whoever, must have come as a refreshing breeze amid the climate of fear that at present has many citizens in its grip.

Several establishments, mostly nightclubs, karaoke halls, bars and other places of entertainment have in the past few weeks come under attack by people, many of them armed with swords and machetes, who claim to be acting in the name of religious morality.

That alone -- religion -- would have been effective enough to scare most people in a country where religious tolerance seems to be wearing thinner by the day. But to arm oneself with swords, knives and machetes and to roam about openly in the streets, threatening people, is to expose others to real harm and violates the law.

It is easy enough to see that if this kind of action is allowed to go on unpunished, it will only invite an escalation of lawlessness and help establish a state of fear and uncertainty that will scare off not only ordinary citizens, but also bona fide businesspeople whose money and entrepreneurship this country so sorely needs to create jobs and incomes for its millions of unemployed. What is a good deal more difficult to comprehend is how this kind of lawlessness can be in any way associated with religious morality.

The latest attack occurred last Monday night when about 300 men who arrived in two minibuses, many of them masked, clad in black and armed with swords and knives, wrought havoc at the Cafe Pasir Putih and Cafe Salsa in the Kemang area in South Jakarta. It was this latest incident that finally elicited a strong response, not just from the police chief Gen. Bimantoro, but from no less a person than President Abdurrahman Wahid.

"They are damaging the interests not only of the owners of the establishments concerned, but the public as well," the police general said. "This is a country based on law. It has a government, law enforcement institutions and rules."

President Abdurrahman Wahid, while breaking the fast with members of the International Conference on Religion and Peace, said he believed Monday night's attack in Kemang was politically motivated since many foreigners live in the area.

"The odd thing was that they only smashed bottles containing low-alcohol beverages. But other beverages such as whiskey and vodka were hauled away, perhaps to be sold for the money -- which shows that they can tell the cheap ones from the expensive. Or it may be that they consume them themselves," the President said, "pretending to be devout but drinking nevertheless." The attackers are also said to have robbed some guests of their purses and cell phones and to have taken a VCD player with them on departing.

It is precisely this apparent peculiarity, however, this deviation from Islamic principles, that gives people reason to believe that, perhaps, the group staging the assault on Monday might not, or not all, be members of the religious groups they claim to belong to. Which would indicate that there is a real danger of ordinary criminals trying to ride the wave of violence and vandalism.

In conclusion, we see no other way than for the law enforcement authorities, the police in particular, but with some military assistance if necessary, to act with toughness and determination in putting a stop to all this madness. It may be true that there are all kinds of restrictions in the way of the police acting effectively under present circumstances. But to allow the lawlessness to continue unchecked is tantamount to demolishing the very fabric of our society.