Violence is a part of complex urban life
Violence is a part of complex urban life
JAKARTA (JP): The conflagration, when it came, did not really
come unexpected. After all, as U.S. President Nixon said in the
wake of the 1970 shooting at Ohio's Kent State University, "when
dissent turns into violence it invites tragedy". The build-up had
openly been going on for weeks before it finally erupted into
violence.
The massive riots that were triggered by the forceful take-
over of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) headquarters in
Jakarta during the weekend of July 27 left the nation in a state
of shock. Vehicles and buildings went up in flames as mobs swept
through the streets around the neighborhood. The riots, according
to official accounts, left two people dead and 26 injured, 34
buildings -- including seven banks were badly damaged and 91
vehicles destroyed. As of this weekend, around 200 people were
still being held by the authorities for questioning. Days later,
numerous shops were still closed and security around the city
remained heavy.
The riots have been described as the worst in two decades to
have swept Jakarta, a city that is no stranger to trouble. Before
the country gained independence, serious disturbances occurred in
the capital. The most infamous was the "Chinese massacre" in
which troops from the Dutch East India Company hauled Chinese
"troublemakers" from their homes to be murdered in the streets of
19th century Batavia.
More recently, two major upheavals in particular will remain
locked in the memory of Jakartans. The first followed the 1966
aborted communist coup that led to the birth of the present New
Order. The second was the "Malari" incident, when an anti-
Japanese demonstration led by university students deteriorated
into uncontrolled rioting that left Jakarta's main shopping and
business areas paralyzed for days.
No less dramatic and tragic was the 1984 Tanjung Priok riot,
which occurred only two years after the incident during the 1982
elections.
Jakartans may well ask themselves if such incidents are the
inevitable consequence of living in the capital of a nation on
its way to reaching full maturity. Only history can answer this
question with certainty. But, as similar incidents in other major
cities seem to indicate -- the 1993 workers' riot in Medan, the
Timika, Irian Jaya incident last year, the Santa Cruz incident in
Dili in 1991 and the 1989 riot in the campus of the Bandung
Institute of Technology -- the violence and upheavals may be part
of life in any urban center where complex problems exist.
And the problems will persist unless enough wisdom prevails
and those involved can reduce the tensions in a way that is
satisfactory to all.
-- Hartoyo Pratiknyo