Seeing Indonesia's violence in Arendt's light.

JAKARTA (JP): The destruction of buildings by a mob in East Java last week during huge rallies in support of beleaguered President Abdurrahman Wahid is only the latest example of public violence, displayed consistently since the country was hit by a crisis four years ago.

Other violence may be lighter in scale but continues unabated, and this is not small in significance to the life of the people. People turn violent at the slightest provocation, street brawls are the rule rather than the exception, people have been robbed at their homes and in side streets with violent attacks, trains enroute are pelted with rocks and petty thieves are burned on the spot.

Why does violence continue to rule in this country?

"When politicians perceive politics as a source of earnings, the result will be fraud, greed and violence," said Haryatmoko, a lecturer at Jakarta's …