Hurry up in Jakarta<\/p>\n
After 32 years of dictatorship under President Soeharto,
\nIndonesians are understandably eager for free elections.
\nPresident B.J. Habibie must move faster in providing them and
\navoid the Soeharto-style repression he has flirted with in recent
\nweeks.<\/p>\n
Mr. Habibie, who was Mr. Soeharto's protege, took over when
\nhis mentor was forced from power last May. He has made some
\nlimited steps toward democracy. But instead of seeking legitimacy
\nthrough early elections, he has stretched out what should have
\nbeen a brief transition.<\/p>\n
This month, students returned to the streets of Jakarta for
\nthe largest demonstrations since the fall of Mr. Soeharto. They
\nwere protesting the slow pace of Mr. Habibie's transition
\ntimetable, his anemic efforts to recover money stolen by the
\nSoeharto family, and the military's continued role in government.
\nUnlike last May, the protests were not joined by the middle
\nclass, but they did draw support from the far more numerous, and
\ndesperate, urban poor.<\/p>\n
Security forces overreacted, killing several students. Mr.
\nHabibie seized on the violent crackdown as a pretext for
\ninterrogating several opposition political figures.<\/p>\n
He is pushing ahead with plans that would defer selection of
\nthe next president until the end of 1999. Even then, the choice
\nwould not be made by voters but by a partially elected assembly
\nlikely to include a large number of military officers and
\ngovernment appointees. It will lack the legitimacy to carry out
\npainful economic reforms or cope with popular protests.<\/p>\n
This week, Indonesia's Parliament will consider the army's
\nfuture role in politics. Mr. Habibie and his political allies
\nwant the army to retain its hand in selecting presidents for five
\nto 10 more years. That kind of military influence has no place in
\na democratic Indonesia. A quicker, cleaner transition to full
\ncivilian democracy is needed, and Washington should not be shy
\nabout saying so.<\/p>\n
-- The New York Times<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hurry-up-in-jakarta-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }