Anyone who marches in the street shouting slogans is certainly going to have reasons to be angry. But that doesn't mean you can thrash the precious children of another man's family who's there to satisfy his military duty. Some of those wielding steel pipes are sharpening them to give them blades, and batting upwards to reach the chin area that can't be protected with a helmet. One couldn't do such a thing unless you wanted in your heart to kill those young people.

Once you remove the protective gear they've all got childlike faces that might as well belong to our sons and nephews. To those wielding wood poles, they could be younger siblings. Why, when they should be studying and meeting girlfriends, must they be holding shields and standing in fear?

When a riot policeman gets injured and is out of service for three or four weeks, he gets W50,000 in compensation. If bones are broken or he receives burns requiring twelve weeks or more of rest, he gets W600,000. No one's ever going give them compensation for fighting for democratization, and the state isn't about to give them a pension. You wonder if the president or the Minister of Government Administration and Home Affairs even knows about this.

More than 680 riot policemen have been injured already this year, compared to 287 last year. These are young riot policemen with their whole lives ahead of them, and hitting them in the face and breaking their bones is absolutely inexcusable, no matter how just one's demands may be. The responsible officials in this government, have been temporarily given custody of these children of other households. They must not pretend not to hear the calls by their parents to return their sons in good health. November 27, 2003