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Editorial: Suharto and his place in



February 16, 1998


                                       



                                Editorial


              Suharto and his
              place in history

              The biggest single worry in the Asian economic crisis must be
              Indonesia. The nation has long been misgoverned by the Suharto
              dictatorship. Riots have been spreading in recent weeks. There
              are fears civil unrest could easily spread to the large cities and
              trigger great violence involving race, religion and the rule of
              Suharto.

              The heat is being turned up under the Indonesia kettle. It now
              appears only a question of who will get burned. During the
              weekend, five people died in riots. Across the country and close
              to Indonesia, ethnic Chinese fled their homes and took shelter in
              police stations, or fled to still peaceful parts of the nation. Troops
              and riot police are a common sight in Indonesia. They also are
              seen in many of the cities, towns and villages of Java and other
              islands.

              The rioters have selected a number of victims for their recent
              violence. In addition to ethnic Chinese shopkeepers, protesters -
              both peaceful and violent - have targetted Christian churches,
              high prices and a rising cost of living, government failure to
              protect the national currency, and local factories attacked as "big
              business".

              At the centre of the storms, however, is President Suharto. He
              has governed for 32 years, since the last ruinous riots swept the
              country and resulted in the downfall of Sukarno. Next month,
              barring unlikely events, he will be selected again to another
              five-year term. In all that time, he has never had to face an
              election. In Indonesia the president is named by a board, most of
              whose members are named by the president.

              This is very handy for the leader and his supporters, for a while.
              But a dictator can only last so long as he is able to provide a
              good life and fulfil increasing expectations. Mr Suharto has
              presided over a continuously prosperous Indonesia in recent
              years. Like Asean neighbours including Thailand, Indonesia has
              watched its economy come alive, and the middle class increase
              vastly in number. Most - not all - Indonesians have believed
              things would be better for their children than for themselves.

              There are increasing signs that the pause in the Indonesian dream
              will be the most crucial time ever for Mr Suharto. Rising violence
              during recent weeks has been only the most obvious sign of
              problems for the Indonesia leader. Demonstrations in Jakarta
              continue to flaunt the regime's heavy-handed bans on political
              protests. The leader of the country's largest single Muslim group
              has warned publicly that "people's power" could be used against
              the president. The US Embassy in Jakarta has warned foreigners
              to steer clear of all demonstrations, and to try to be more aware
              both of thieves and political protesters.

              In many ways, Indonesia appears to be losing both its civil sense
              and control. No less than the head of the Indonesian Chamber of
              Commerce and Industry has called on the government to seize
              businesses owned by Indonesians of Chinese descent and give
              them to pribumis, or Indonesians of local descent. The
              embarrassingly racist suggestion by chairman Aburizal Bakrie will
              go over poorly in most of Asean. It will also frighten or drive off
              potential investors on several grounds.

              President Suharto, like most dictators, has refused to prepare his
              country for his inevitable loss of power. He has shared all the
              excesses and failures of neighbouring despots from Thanom
              Kittikachorn to Ferdinand Marcos. Mr Suharto has taken a
              heavy hand to the political opposition, but by assuring his own
              survival for a few years he has made certain there is only a
              shallow manpower pool from which to search for a successor.
              By running Indonesia as his personal fiefdom, partly looting it in
              the process, he has ensured a lack of resources to those who
              must build Indonesia after he goes.

              Mr Suharto has precious little time in which to build even a
              grudging legacy. He should begin now to prepare his country for
              an open, free democracy. He should encourage political
              dialogue. And he should make it clear to all Indonesians why it is
              both correct and preferable to stop their deadly attacks on their
              ethnic Chinese brother citizens. President Suharto has a chance
              to lead his country and help it emerge stronger and better in
              many ways. His response to the current crisis will probably
              define how history remembers him.




                                       




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Last Modified: Mon, Feb 16, 1998