Jkt Post, Opinion, January 30, 2007
When Indonesian police can do no right
Asher Tauran, Jakarta

The police have a hard time defending themselves for their actions against "armed civilians" in Poso these days. By the way, I like the expression "armed civilians", because it sounds almost docile, like "politionele aktie" or "civil disobedience". As if they had no choice but to arm themselves, to protect against some bigger evil, like the police.
And as such it certainly fits well in our culture of bargaining when it comes to truth and justice, when top is bottom, killing is naughty but an understandable act of desperation, terrorists are sincerely executing God's will and truth and anarchy is a form of democracy. Oh yes, and in the end we cry "mea culpa" and anticipate absolution and expect to walk free.
So no surprise that the police are under public scrutiny again. After all the public often considers them notoriously corrupt, and therefore their reputation haunts them with every move they make. In other words, they simply can do no right.
So here we are with our police walking on eggshells, stabbed in the back by the very people who are supposed to define their powers. If the police cannot perform their duties because their mandate is being questioned by legislators, who should formulate these duties in the first place, we are definitely in for a sorry state of democracy. But let us be honest, that is no big news, since the rules of engagement have never even been explained.
It is no surprise either that the police gave an ultimatum to the Poso fugitives, only to extend it a few more times while nervously looking at their superiors and their superiors' superiors for protecting guidelines. Starting to look silly and powerless they decided to act. In the end the ultimatum turned against the police themselves when their own sincerity was at stake.
Obviously the police must have been aware of the enormous pressure building up for them to act, as inaction was no longer an option. And surely they must have realized the consequences of their much-awaited battle. And, in fact, their actions did result in some "fascinating" statements from various quarters.
Mr. Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, with his pre-medieval mind-set, lashed out at his usual whipping boys: the U.S., Australia, the West and unbelievers. I wonder if he is not becoming more and more a caricature of himself, just a bitter old man and a "has been", on the verge of checking out.
Din Syamsuddin warned the authorities that the conflict in Poso may not remain a horizontal conflict but could "become vertical". He may not have noticed that we are already there and that it is very much part of our countries' social and political landscape, from Aceh to Papua, ever since the days of independence. What he is saying is in fact "go easy on the militants because you may hurt some peace-abiding civilians" (the obstructing supporters and by definition accomplices without the arms, I suppose).
Sidney Jones of the International Crisis Group, in line with Syamsuddin's vertical conflict scenario, fears a clash between jihadists and the police, which in my view is just an obvious and ever-polarizing antagonism, rather than a point of concern. In fact, it is all about law enforcement and catching plain murderers, including their partners in crime. All the rest is just fancy talk trying to avoid calling a spade a spade, as usual.
Others again have claimed that to find balance and justice in the overall Poso conflict, the 16 names put forward by Tibo and company, the so-called real masterminds of the violence in Poso, should be investigated. A pretty hypocritical approach since Tibo, Da Silva and Riwu were executed after police and prosecutors publicly rejected their "Novum plea", stating that clear evidence could not be found to implicate the 16 people mentioned.
Finding fault now would only put the state apparatus, including the police, in the dock for prematurely and under faulty pretext executing these men.
And let us not forget about the human rights team that was sent early on to monitor the police' moves, primarily in order to assure the rights of the 29 fugitive suspects. If you ask me, a pretty awkward display of concern when considering the lack of "spotlight" for their victims and a huge sign of distrust for our law enforcers.
But the point is not the usual double standard or hypocrisy in this matter. It is our weird culture of not knowing what is right and what is wrong even when truth is staring you in the face. Truth has become an enigma. Constant bargaining over integrity, sincerity, commitment and determination has created an environment of insecurity, where laws or "rules of the game" all have morphed into some "gado-gado" called the Indonesian way.
So, for once I feel sorry for the police, but more so for this country, its leadership, or lack thereof, and above all its victims and their loved ones.
The writer is a graduate of the University of Amsterdam (European Studies). He can be reached at principe@indosat.net.id.