The widespread violence that has marked the campaign leading up to tomorrow's parliamentary elections in Indonesia moved editors there and elsewhere in East and South Asia to speculate on the underlying causes of the unrest. Editorial voices in Indonesia and in neighboring Thailand spoke of the "pent-up" opposition and "rage" funneling the people's energies into the streets, since, as one Jakarta daily put it, voters had little reason to believe that "sovereignty is in their hands." Stating that "never has (Indonesia's) stability under Soeharto been challenged as severely as now," paper after paper--both in Indonesia and elsewhere--cited the "systemic" problems they viewed as the root causes of the rioting. "Corruption," "lack of transparency" and "rising social and economic discontent" ranked highest on the list, prompting most analysts to call for major political and economic reforms in order to preserve the stability and economic dynamism that has characterized Indonesia in the Soeharto era. Melbourne's liberal Age, for example, pointed out, "President Soeharto's economic miracles, backed by massive financial aid from other nations, have not been matched by an extension of democratic rights." Noting that "Indonesians have not been blind to the widening gap between rich and poor," the Age called on the Indonesian president to "take his country on a faster transition to democracy and reject any tendencies towards further repression."

The Indonesia media, usually very hesitant to criticize the status quo, were particularly outspoken on the issues of corruption and the lack of "true" democracy and dialogue. The leading, independent Jakarta Post stated uncompromisingly: "In Indonesia...the basic foundation of democracy, namely the culture of tolerance, is not only absent, it is being hindered by the government itself." In separate editorials, that same paper also chastised those who practiced "corruption"--once a taboo word in Indonesian journalistic circles--and lamented "the dearth of truly great politicians to represent the people for the next five years." Calling for "transparency and responsiveness" on the part of the Indonesian "elite," Jakarta's leading, independent Kompas was also outspoken in its conclusion that "ineffective control in the free market era has caused people, especially those in power, to become corrupt and insensitive." Even the Armed Forces' official Angkatan Bersenjata lamented: "Corruption and collusion are increasing rather than declining." Independent Media Indonesia, reflecting on the death toll in Banjarmasin, Kalimantan--where over 100 people died in a shopping mall fire following clashes between supporters of the ruling Golkar Party and the Muslim-dominated United Development Party--declared starkly, "What stays in mind is only the unrest.... Is something going wrong in our society?"