Support the war -- or else
Support the war -- or else
Ugly scenes straight out of the days of the New Regime
continue to confront us. This time, it was Tuesday's attack on
the office of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of
Violence (Kontras).
The incident immediately brought to mind the same way used in
the past to force consent -- violence, conducted shamelessly in
broad daylight, because the perpetrators know they will most
likely walk free.
In this particular case, the consent sought was evidently that
no one should speak up against the war in Aceh, or should do so
at the peril of being called a traitor of the "patriotic" and
"nationalistic" cause.
A group of men in fatigues, claiming to be from the Pemuda
Panca Marga, raided and vandalized the office, destroyed
equipment and assaulted five staff members, oblivious to the fact
that people have become sick of such shows of force and
hoodlumism committed by uniformed men, complete with military-
like berets.
For Kontras, this was the second attack since last year and
the fifth attack on the office or its personnel since 2000. The
reason of the "visit" by the youth organization, which was
formerly associated with the Golkar party, was because Kontras
has been outspoken regarding the "integrated operation" in Aceh.
As we have seen, there is an abundant source of inspiration
for such attackers in civilian and military authorities, and no
less in President Megawati Soekarnoputri herself. An ugly sense
of premonition followed her words that pro-democracy people who
did not support the government line regarding Aceh "should just
move out of the country."
Her words rang just like President George W. Bush's "either
you're with us or with them", and of course, contributed to an
effect similar to what happened in the United States -- the
shoring up of nationalism, no questions asked and isolation of
those who opt for different views, which we later ridiculed as
the war in Iraq progressed.
Therefore, the President herself and other authorities should
be held responsible for encouraging such violence, particularly
given the fact that the impact would predictably be worse in this
nation where the culture of violence and impunity still prevails.
No further action will be needed once a new justification for
attacking human rights activists appears.
Kontras and other like-minded organizations stand for human
rights, while the attackers and like-minded parties support the
unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia at all costs.
As historians, sociologists and other experts have tirelessly
argued, there is much that has been left misunderstood or ignored
in the public discourse regarding our past and recent history,
including Aceh and the decision for a military approach.
Even without hoodlumism, it is a struggle for many here to
accept views other than those they have been taught to believe.
The decision to go to war has been taken, but allowing violent
campaigns to quash efforts at an enlightened dialog and what the
civilian population could hope to gain -- they only show how the
old ways have continued to prevail for the benefit of those in
power.