A newspaper office
and several government buildings in Palopo City, South Sulawesi, were set
ablaze by a mob on Sunday in one of the worst incidents of election-related
violence in recent years, after supporters of the losing camp were upset over a
marginal win by another candidate.
The violence comes just four days after a police chief
in North Sumatra was killed by a mob after he and three officers raided a
gambling den. That same day, a senior policeman was stabbed to death at a
coffee stall in Banda Aceh over a land dispute.
The incidents come amid a spate of violence against
the authorities across the country, prompting Indonesian media to issue dire
warnings of a slide into lawlessness if nothing serious is done to arrest the
problem.
Some share the concern of former vice-president Jusuf
Kalla, who said he feared that the "law of the jungle" will increase
if no firm action is taken.
Yesterday, an upset President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
called for a Cabinet meeting to discuss the incidents and chided local
governments for not taking preventive measures, especially in the aftermath of
local elections.
"If you know such things could happen, the local
police, governors and leaders should find a way to anticipate and prevent
them," he said.
Dr Yudhoyono said he has instructed police and the
army to investigate and punish those responsible.
But there have also been incidents where leaders
themselves have resorted to thuggish behaviour. A mayor in Gorontalo, North
Sulawesi, led a mob attack on state-owned television broadcaster TVRI after it
aired an interview with a local elections officer saying that the mayor was not
fit to run in an upcoming election.
With more regional elections expected across several
of the country's 33 provinces this year, incidents such as the one that happened
in South Sulawesi could recur, warned Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi.
Speaking to reporters, he said his ministry and
parliamentarians are jointly evaluating the system of regional elections. Since
2005, there have been more than 50 casualties from protests against local
election results.
"Based on consultations with analysts and
politicians which are ongoing, we are considering changing the way some of
these mayors and governors are elected - perhaps be elected by the House or
representatives," he added.
Regional elections have been rife with vote-rigging
and corruption, and lately have seen a dwindling number of voters as they
choose to abstain, indicating a rising apathy towards the government.
Al Araf, an analyst and programme director at human
rights and national security watchdog Imparsial, said the targeting of police
merely represents the anger towards the government and a deep loss of
confidence in them.
"Police are standing by when minorities like
Ahmadiyah are being attacked or when land disputes occur, so people are fed up
and take matters into their own hands," he said.
"So they see police as the face of the
government... a government that in their eyes has failed to (improve) their
welfare and care more about enriching themselves," he said.
Zubaidah Nazeer
The Straits Times
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