Bad vibes from the palace<\/p>\n
The nation seems to have been getting a lot of bad vibes from
\nthe presidential palace over these last few days. On Monday,
\nPresident Abdurrahman Wahid's invitation to a meeting to discuss
\na political compromise was snubbed by leaders of the major
\npolitical parties. On Thursday, he ordered the arrest of National
\nPolice chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro for insubordination.<\/p>\n
While these two incidents are not necessarily related, they
\nshed some disturbing light on the psychological state of Gus Dur,
\nwho is facing an almost certain impeachment process at the
\nspecial session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) next
\nmonth.<\/p>\n
The snub by the leaders of the major political parties,
\nincluding Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri of the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), indicates a
\nPresident who is becoming more and more politically alienated.<\/p>\n
He could have spared himself a major embarrassment by simply
\nnot going to Bogor, south of Jakarta, where the meeting was
\nscheduled to have taken place. He must have known beforehand that
\nhis invitations had been turned down by all except the chairman
\nof his own Nation Awakening Party (PKB), Matori Abdul Djalil.<\/p>\n
Alas, he traveled to the vast Bogor presidential palace, had
\nlunch with Matori and called a news conference in which he
\nrenewed his threats of violence by his supporters if his
\npolitical rivals continued with their impeachment campaign.<\/p>\n
By turning down the invitation, his rivals were guilty of
\nclosing the door on a political compromise. But the behavior of
\nthe Muslim leader was even more reprehensible for using the
\nlanguage of violence instead of the language of peace in
\ndefending his presidency.<\/p>\n
Gus Dur's order for the arrest of Gen. Bimantoro, meanwhile,
\nshows a President who is becoming increasingly desperate.<\/p>\n
The order is the latest move in the contest between the two
\nmen, which has been going on for over one month now. Using the
\ncarrot and stick approach, Gus Dur has been trying desperately to
\nremove Bimantoro, who had publicly spoken against the President's
\nplan to declare a state of emergency for the sole purpose of
\ngiving himself the power to arrest his rivals, even if the
\nsituation on the ground did not warrant such a declaration.<\/p>\n
A defiant Bimantoro has not only refused an ambassadorship,
\nbut has also refused to stand down despite repeated calls by the
\nPresident. Gus Dur apparently now has succeeded in tearing apart
\nthe police leadership and securing enough support from many of
\nthe middle-ranking officers to issue the arrest order.<\/p>\n
What an alienated and desperate President with a penchant for
\nviolence would do next is anybody's guess. But these two events
\nare certainly not the last in the ongoing power struggle as the
\npressure and momentum build up for his impeachment.<\/p>\n
While Gus Dur cannot control his destiny and impeachment is
\nnow an almost certain, if not desirable, outcome, he still
\npossesses enough constitutional power to influence things by
\nvirtue of his presidential office.<\/p>\n
Gus Dur can use that power wisely or recklessly in dealing
\nwith the threat of impeachment. With so much power still vested
\nin him, he can make a difference, if not to the outcome,
\ncertainly to the process.<\/p>\n
The vibes emanating from the palace this week, however, are
\nnot that reassuring, for they indicate a President who is
\nincreasingly out of sync with the situation. We can only hope and
\npray that reality will hit home soon for his own sake, the sake
\nof his supporters and, most of all, for the sake of this nation.<\/p>",
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