Abdurrahman's absence<\/p>\n
There is no doubt many Indonesians are having difficulty
\ndeciding whether to be reassured or worried that the military has
\nput itself on heightened alert \"to anticipate any possible
\ndisturbances\" during President Abdurrahman Wahid's 16-day absence
\nfrom the country.<\/p>\n
If anything, the President's assurance -- no doubt intended to
\ncomfort the nation -- that \"almost all\" military officers are
\nloyal to him and that \"only a handful\" of \"cowardly\" officers may
\nbe disloyal, has helped heighten the climate of uncertainty he is
\nleaving behind.<\/p>\n
No one questions Abdurrahman's good intentions in making his
\nfourth overseas trip in the less than four months he has been in
\noffice. His assertion that he is not going abroad \"for fun\" is
\nrather superfluous given his widely known preference for living
\nsimply.<\/p>\n
Like his earlier trips abroad, his present tour, which will
\ncover 13 countries including Saudi Arabia and several countries
\nin Europe and Asia, is aimed essentially at rallying more
\neconomic aid for the country as well as securing recognition of
\nIndonesia's territorial integrity.<\/p>\n
Given the pledges of economic and political support which the
\nPresident has so far received from foreign governments, including
\nthe United States and China, it can be surmised that his overseas
\ntrips indeed have been beneficial for Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The problem is that this time the President is leaving his
\ncountry in a climate of grave uncertainty. The President's light-
\nhearted refutals notwithstanding, rumors of a possible military
\ncoup have refused to die. Indeed, the rumors appeared to gain in
\nstrength after Abdurrahman's departure from Jakarta on Friday.<\/p>\n
In the already fidgety market, the rumors created enough
\nfurther uncertainty to cause the Jakarta Stock Exchange to fall
\nby around 1.5 percent on Friday. The rupiah also dropped slightly
\nduring the week.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, sectarian clashes in Maluku continued to
\nflare during the past week, albeit at apparently reduced
\nintensity. And with the continuing casualties in Aceh on the side
\nof both the government and the separatist rebels, neither does
\nthe unrest in the country's westernmost province appear to be
\nanywhere near a lasting conclusion.<\/p>\n
Overall, security disturbances in the country show no sign of
\nsubsiding in the foreseeable future. Terrorists and provocateurs
\neven appear to be broadening their scope of operations to such
\npreviously peaceful areas as Yogyakarta, where security officers
\nwere able to prevent a bomb from destroying the city's grand
\nmosque -- an act that could easily have turned this ancient city
\ninto the country's latest hot spot of sectarian violence.<\/p>\n
With all this anxiety and uncertainty, the country has been
\nleft in the charge of Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri,
\nwhose popularity among the masses is unquestioned, but whose
\nexperience in matters of government remains untested. Given the
\ncircumstances, the best one can hope for is that Abdurrahman's
\nconfidence that nothing will happen during his 16-day absence
\nderives from hard intelligence rather than mere intuition.<\/p>\n
As for the Vice President, this is her opportunity to show the
\nnation and the world that she does indeed have the capacity to
\nlead the nation, even if it is one careful step at a time, toward
\na better future.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/abdurrahmans-absence-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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