Weekend of violence

No sane person could ever endorse the violence and anarchy that we saw in Jakarta this weekend. The lawlessness and arson that officially left two dead and massive material damages are deplorable.

Violence will not resolve or achieve anything. Instead, it causes rage, frustration and misery. Nothing good came from this weekend of rioting.

But we need to look at the incident more objectively and less emotionally. The rioting was not an isolated incident. It was the culmination of a series of events with origins in the prolonged leadership conflict within the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).

The seeds were sown last month when a group of PDI leaders opposed to the leadership of Megawati Soekarnoputri staged a government-supported congress in Medan and elected Soerjadi to the helm. The congress and election proceeded against the wishes of many PDI members who continued to regard Megawati as the party's legitimate leader.

Since the Medan congress, many Megawati supporters have been maintaining a round-the-clock vigil at the PDI's headquarters on Jl. Diponegoro, Central Jakarta, to prevent Soerjadi from moving in. For the past month, the PDI office compound was turned into a public forum not only for Megawati supporters, but for pro- democracy activists wanting to vent their anger with the government.

Then, on Saturday morning, the forced take-over of the PDI headquarters by Soerjadi's supporters, again helped by security forces, ignited the disturbance. The violence quickly spread to nearby neighborhoods and degenerated into a state of lawlessness.

The massive protests against the government's handling of the PDI affair show that society has changed and that our citizens are more politically aware. The free-speech forums held in the PDI office compound reflect a growing crisis of confidence in the authorities and in the ability of the current political system to solve today's problems. Given that our society has become used to violence, it was plain to see that the PDI affair had the potential to erupt. And this is exactly what happened.

We should take note of the fact that the riots were joined by a group of young people who feel entirely left out of the economic development process. These youths took part because it was a rare opportunity for them to vent their pent-up anger at the government, whom they blame for their current economic situation.

When both the politically and the economically frustrated opt for violence, there must be a breakdown in communication in the political system.

We fully support the authorities, especially the military, in their effort to confine the riots and restore order. The faster law and order are restored, the sooner our city can return to its normal activities. Prolonged unrest will undoubtedly disrupt the lives of the city's inhabitants, but it could also weaken investors' confidence and have a lasting impact on the economy.

Restoring law and order is not enough and will not resolve our political and economic problems. The incident should prompt us to find long-term solutions to these problems, while compelling the authorities to be more careful and wise when handling such flare- ups in the future.