Riots in Jakarta further erode the legitimacy of the Suharto rule
THE attack was obviously pre-planned. On July 27, as foreign ministers of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its dialogue partners departed after their 10-day deliberations, riot police stormed the headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) in downtown Jakarta.
The building had been occupied for about a month by supporters of PDI leader Megawati Sukarnoputri, daughter of Indonesia's founding president, Sukarno, and was being used to launch public attacks on the Suharto government. "From the timing it does look pretty obvious that it (the raid) was pre-planned," said a Jakarta-based diplomat. "Given the prominence of human rights at the meeting, it's clear they (the government) had planned it and implemented it as soon as the foreign ministers left."바카라 웹사이트
At least two PDI workers were killed and dozens injured in the raid. But the government was obviously unprepared for the riots that followed. Megawati's cadres set ablaze 10 buildings and the police attacked them, injuring hundreds. To check the mob, the government called out the troops and issued shoot-at-sight orders. Said to be the largest civil disturbance in Jakarta in two decades—the riots renewed worries about the political as well as economic future of South-east Asia's largest nation.
Only the ruling Golkar party and two others, including the PDI, are allowed to function in Indonesia. Tension built up after a government-backed coup effectively split the PDI. On June 21, at a rump party congress in Medan, on the island of Sumatra, rebel leader Surjadi was named the PDI's chairman. He was supported by elements of the politically important armed forces. Megawati retaliated by starting her anti-Suharto crusade from her party headquarters in Jakarta. The raid on the headquarters came two days after Suharto met Surjadi. This continuing turmoil had its effect on the financial markets, which were jolted in early July when Suharto, 75, made a snap visit to Germany for a health check-up. Then on July 29, two days after the riots, the Jakarta Stock Exchange fell 3.5 per cent in a day, and the rupiah plunged to its lowest point this year against the dollar.
바카라 웹사이트Suharto, a former general, took over power in the mid '60s following a possibly Communist-led coup attempt against Sukarno and a crackdown on supporters of the then-powerful Indonesian Communist Party, or PKI, in which millions died. Suh-arto is serving his sixth five-year term as president and has always contested unopposed. He faces re-election in 1998.
Suharto's rule is highly personalised with power concentrated in his hands. Specialists believe his style of rule is modelled on traditional notions of Javanese kingship, in which the exercise of power was an all-or-nothing proposition. Suha-rto's children control large, controversial business enterprises whose prospects are most likely to suffer should pro-democracy or unsympathetic opposition forces come to power.
Though planned elections are more than a year away, a tense run-up to them has already begun. Suharto's evident hostility to Megawati may spring from a fear that she might run against him. A strong showing or even her candidacy could badly damage his legitimacy, at a time when many wonder what will follow after his death.
By forcibly appointing Surjadi as the PDI chairman, the government has turned Megawati into a lightning rod for the long-simmering discontent. Megawati, whose charisma and clout depend largely on her status as Sukarno's daughter, "is a symbol of democracy," says PDI member of parliament Tampu-bolon. "She is our hope." However, the growing discontent notwithstanding, a successful democratic movement is unlikely, say most observers. But the PDI is "a symptom," says another, "and you should not underestimate the level of resignation." Not all observers agree. Cornelis Lay, lecturer in political science at Gajah Mada University in Yogyakarta and a specialist on the PDI, cites recent regional unrest throughout Indonesia—not just in separatist strongholds such as East Timor, Irian Jaya and Aceh in northern Sumatra—and says: "There is a possibility that the PDI can connect with one or another of the local issues. If that happens, then politics in this country will be in trouble."바카라 웹사이트
"The erosion of (Suharto's) legitimacy is becoming very visible," says Gunawan Mohammad, a veteran journalist. Even he counsels patience and realism, though. After all, most observers agree that if Suharto were to die before the elections, "it would be a free for all."바카라 웹사이트