Stop this lawlessness

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.