The Dresden incident

The Dresden incident

President Soeharto is well-known for his composure, wisdom, and self restraint. Seldom he is known to engage himself in an emotional outburst. Thus, it came as a surprise, when, last Thursday on his return from a state visit to Germany and several Central Asian countries, he lashed out at certain Indonesian individuals, who are believed to have been directly, or indirectly, involved in demonstrations against him in Germany. He has asked the authorities to take firm measures against them.

Although the President concealed his true feelings in his usual relaxed manner, while smiling and laughing, judging from the words he used in reference to those individuals -- "crazy", "insane", "irrational", "selling out their country" -- one could gauge that this time the President was really upset.

During visits abroad, it is not unusual for President Soeharto to encounter demonstrations against him, but he has never been known to publicly condemn them. Thus, there must be substantial reasons why the President was so upset this time.

The first assumption is that this may be because for the first time, the President's entourage was in very close proximity to the demonstrators. Some reports said the crowd, which was shouting obscenities, came as close as one meter, or one-and-a- half meters, of the President's vehicle.

Second, President Soeharto has received reports that some Indonesians took part in the demonstrations, or had given input to the foreign protesters, and that some even went as far as to go to Germany to provide materials for the protesters. Perhaps, these might be the reasons behind the President's wrath, that motivated him to use the term "sell out".

We certainly deplore the demonstrations in Germany, and particularly condemn those protesters in Dresden, who shouted obscenities and insults at President Soeharto. Any Indonesian with enough common sense and patriotism would certainly be angry and upset if our head of state was insulted or abused with dirty words. If it is true that some Indonesian citizens took part in those protests, it is a most deplorable act and their involvement must be investigated.

But, first, we have to question how the protesters in Dresden could come within such close proximity to the President's entourage. The idea that the security officers in Dresden, which was formerly a communist state, "maybe do not have the experience for effective crowd control", as the President has said, sounds superficial.

What would have happened if terrorists, for instance, had capitalized on the lax security to wage an attack on Pak Harto? Who would have to bear the responsibility if such a thing had happened? Who was responsible for allowing the President's entourage to enter into such a vulnerable situation? Clearly, this incident must be thoroughly investigated and not settled by a merely plausible apology.

As to those people believed to be linked with the demonstrations -- some security officials have named Goenawan Mohamad, Sri Bintang Pamungkas and Yeni Rosa Damayanti -- we think that we must be careful and use common sense before indulging ourselves in joining the chorus already blaming them. After all, we always pride ourselves in being citizens of a country which respects the law. Thus everybody must be considered innocent until proven otherwise by the law. Hence, it would be wise to let the nation's law agencies have the chance to thoroughly investigate the matter before making a hasty judgment.

We believe that it is also wise to clearly define what is meant by the term "giving out materials" to foreign parties. Does giving lectures or interviews abroad fall under this category? Can exchanging information on the current situation with foreign organizations be considered giving input to foreign parties? And, what materials are considered "negative" or "harmful"?

We have to remember that in this age of information, the world has shrunk to an extent that information can be easily obtained through any electronic means. We should also remember that from the very beginning we opted for an open society in which information is easily accessible for everybody.

Consequently, it is impossible for us to contain what is happening in this country and keep it from the eyes and ears of the international community. The foreign press, embassies and other international organizations are free to file their reports. Hence, any information can be easily obtained without necessarily having to pass through the hands of our own nationals.

In relation to this, we also have to be aware that different systems and values can lead to misinterpretations. The conclusion is, we have to be ready to face criticism on practically anything, particularly in relation to any perceived misdeeds.