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Editorial: Suharto and his place in
- Subject: Editorial: Suharto and his place in
- From: suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 16 Feb 1998 03:28:00
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