Students help the nation restart healing process

By Mochtar Buchori

JAKARTA (JP): Gen. Wiranto's revelation that the Armed Forces have never been involved in the kidnapping of student' activists has been received by the public with a great sense of relief. His statement has had a reassuring effect, albeit not entirely convincing to some, and his promise that the Armed Forces will do its best to locate the activists who are still missing has been heartily welcome by the public.

However, doubts still linger among the public over whether the Armed Forces really has the capability or the heart to protect citizens from terrorist acts committed by covert groups that have thus far remained unknown.

This fear is real, I think, and not just a product of an overactive collective imagination. News that the groups responsible for the kidnappings acted in a very professional way naturally gave rise to such apprehensions, as did revelations that the gangs issued stern threats to kill anybody released from captivity if they talked about their whereabouts, or made statements concerning tortures inflicted by the abductors.

The recent testimony given by human rights activist Pius Lustrilanang further reinforced this fear. There are even people who speculate that the kidnappings were conducted by well- organized paramilitary groups with operation guidelines provided by elements within the military establishment. Who are these abductors and their sponsors? This is a question to which the public is yearning for an answer.

These fears and worries notwithstanding, one thing that is very reassuring to me is the fact that we do not live in a country which is guilty of perpetrating widespread state terrorism, at least not yet. What we have now is, according to Walter Laqueur, terrorism perpetrated by "sub-state actors of violence."

However, if we are not sufficiently vigilant in guarding whatever is left of democracy in our society, Indonesia will certainly degenerate into a society of terror and counter-terror. If this happens, our nation will be reduced to a repressive, authoritarian or dictatorial state, and democracy will become an illusion, a word without meaning.

Signs of political decline have been evident for quite some time. Even before the recent kidnappings we tasted terrorism. The forcible takeover of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) headquarters on July 27, 1996 was just one such act. The government said it had nothing do with the whole affair, claiming instead that cadres of Suryadi, the new PDI leader, who had received two weeks intensive training, had been responsible for the entire coup d'etat. Can an ordinary person be trained to become a murderer within two weeks? And who trained them? Here already we see the seeds of terrorism.

This frightening possibility was brought into sharper focus by comments made in response to Pius Lustrilanang's testimony. A military general said there was no way of proving the person who gave the testimony to members of the National Commission on Human Rights was really Pius Lustrilanang. Another general believed proof that Pius was really tortured was still lacking.

Statements like these are nothing more than attempts to defend the present political system, and to thwart increasingly popular demands for political reform. It is very obvious that these comments were made by people without any sense of political decency.

Any thinking person can see those who sincerely believe Pius Lustrilanang did not give the testimony must prove their assertion. They must back up their claims with evidence. To make such comments in full knowledge that they will never be substantiated is a thoroughly indecent act.

This argument also applies to those who insist Pius was not tortured. Anybody who believes this must come forward with convincing evidence, and unless they can do so, they have no moral right to doubt the activist's testimony.

All these acts and overtures, in addition to being a threat to our political life, are a testimony to our lack of political decency. The basic rules of political decency are to not distort reality and not to deceive the public. Statements that cannot be accounted for or substantiated should never be made. To do so is to insult public intelligence by forcing people to believe the unbelievable. Indecent political practices will kill any nation in the long run.

Fortunately, wise people throughout the ages have said that before disaster strikes, a nation facing great difficulty has the opportunity to rejuvenate and heal itself. Friedrich Nietzsche once said that "a nation usually renews its youth on a political sick-bed, and there finds again the spirit which it has gradually lost in seeking and maintaining power."

Do we have this opportunity? Yes! The student demonstrations that have been going on for three months now, and the increasing support they have received from society at large, is an indisputable sign of our nation's healing process.

Shall we recover the spirit that guided our forefathers when they created our homeland?

The majority of our nation has recaptured this spirit. It is only the hardheaded nepotists, collusionists and opportunists who have failed to move with the spirit of the time. Worse still, these people refuse even to understand it.

We need to commit ourselves firmly to this regained spirit if we are to complete our historic journey. These terrorist acts should not hinder us in our struggle to restore democracy in our land. We should never forget that terrorism is not an ideology. It is, to use Walter Laqueur's words, a mere "insurrectional strategy", employed by people who always operate in anonymity.

Moreover, throughout history, terrorism has never brought about radical and lasting change. Finally, the terrorist reservoir is not unlimited. If enough terrorists are killed or arrested, a terrorist movement will cease to be an effective force. Some minor activity may continue, but it is no more than that, a minor nuisance.

The writer is an observer of social and cultural affairs.