Why Can't Demonstrations be Civilized?

The frequent occurrence of demonstrations in Indonesia is increasingly taking its toll on the nation. Once prided as a nation of high cultural refinement, the protests make us ashamed to be Indonesian.

December 18, 2000

The only remaining traces of the cultural refinement that once prevailed in this country can be found in history books. In the past, people would congregate in the town square to present their opinions and complaints to the king, and the process was conducted in an orderly manner.

Images of brutality are broadcast on television every day. And photos on the front pages of newspapers show the face of an angry nation: images of a land besieged by

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