Surjadi warns public to ignore rumors

JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta Governor Surjadi Soedirdja wants Jakartans to be on guard against potentially divisive issues he says are being dredged up to create conflicts.

He said during a visit to four districts in North Jakarta that "We have to be alert against issues thrown up by irresponsible persons who apparently want to create conflicts in society."

He cited the "SARA issues" as potentially disruptive and dangerous.

SARA is the acronym the government uses for the societally sensitive matters of suku (ethnicity), agama (religion), ras (race) and antar golongan (societal groups).

Surjadi said on Friday that the people bringing up those issues are only looking for popularity and the opportunity to further their own interests.

"We must uphold the unity of the nation instead of being provoked by such issues," Surjadi said as reported by Antara.

Over the past two weeks, two potentially violent incidents involving hundreds of students occurred due to SARA-related rumors.

Hundreds of students from various senior high schools in Jakarta and Bogor reportedly planned twice to attack a Catholic senior high school in Sukabumi, West Java, after being provoked by a rumor that the Koran, the holy book of Islam, had been burned. The rumor, which had been fanned through the distribution of leaflets, was later proven to be unfounded.

On Thursday, city police officers detained 140 Jakarta and Bogor high school students for allegedly planning to attack the privately run high school in Sukabumi.

Police confiscated a number of weapons, including knives, hammers and chains, from the students.

During a meeting held by city police last week to discuss the question of how to handle student brawls, the SARA issues were a part of the agenda because they were considered to be among the factors causing fights. (01)