RI has weak president, troubled economy: Expert<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia has a weak president, a tarnished
\nmilitary and a troubled economy -- but such a sorry state of
\naffairs actually provides a window of opportunity to prevent the
\nrise of yet another strongman ruler who causes people suffering,
\na political scientist has concluded.<\/p>\n
Dewi Fortuna Anwar from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences
\n(LIPI) also told an international conference on democratization
\nin Indonesia that people now had an opportunity to decrease the
\nmilitary's involvement in politics.<\/p>\n
She pointed out that unlike in the country's previous
\ntransition of power in the 1960s, when Sukarno was replaced by
\nanother strongman, Soeharto, in May 1998 power was transferred to
\na man widely regarded as a weak leader.<\/p>\n
\"...now the government is in the hands of President B.J.
\nHabibie who is regarded as a weak leader with no major political
\nforce of his own and whose term in office is very limited,\" Dewi
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"While in earlier times the state was always stronger than
\nsociety, now the reverse is true,\" she said. \"The troubles faced
\nby the military and its overall lack of credibility because of
\nhuman rights abuses compound the impression of a relatively weak
\nstate on the one hand and an increasingly powerful civil society
\non the other.\"<\/p>\n
\"There is now... an opportunity to prevent the rise of
\nanother strongman and personal rule once and for all, as well as
\nto reduce the military's involvement in politics.<\/p>\n
\"The way is now open... to take part in shaping the country's
\nfuture political system,\" said Dewi, who is also the foreign
\naffairs assistant to the Minister\/State Secretary.<\/p>\n
Dewi was one of a number of illustrious political commentators
\nattending the three-day conference opened by LIPI director
\nSoefjan Tsauri. Minister of Education Juwono Sudarsono spoke
\nyesterday, as did Daniel Dhakidae, Mochtar Pabottingi, and Y.B.
\nMangunwijaya.<\/p>\n
International speakers in the discussion included R. William
\nLiddle and Richard Gunther from Ohio State University, Harold
\nCrouch from the Australian National University, Daniel S. Lev
\nfrom University of Washington in Seattle, and Juan J. Linz from
\nYale University.<\/p>\n
Lev and Linz, in an interview with Antara, said the Armed
\nForces (ABRI) involvement in national politics had \"distorted\"
\ndemocratization here.<\/p>\n
\"A country whose political leader is a military man would see
\na great distortion,\" Lev said, expressing his relief upon hearing
\nthat a recent ABRI leadership meeting had decided to reduce the
\nsociopolitical role of the military.<\/p>\n
\"That's progress for Indonesian politics and
\ndemocratization... and should be welcomed,\" he said. \"I see the
\ncurrent ABRI leaders as a group of professionals who want to
\nencourage professionalism among their soldiers. But this will not
\nbe easy and will take time.\"<\/p>\n
He cited the fact that many of ABRI's senior figures were
\ncurrently enjoying a high political profile and might therefore
\nwant to maintain the status quo.<\/p>\n
Linz said democratization should proceed naturally and without
\ncoercion. \"What's important is that the police, the courts and
\nthe bureaucracy function well so that leaders cannot force
\neverything from above.\"<\/p>\n
Mangunwijaya, who is better known as Father Mangun, told the
\nseminar yesterday how the push for reform that helped force
\nSoeharto to step aside should be followed by a reform in
\nmentality and an overhaul of the whole political system.<\/p>\n
Among the first steps that need to be taken is a revision of
\nthe Constitution, he said.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that Soeharto's cronies were still in power and
\nthe system that he built remained in place.<\/p>\n
\"To rebuild Indonesia we need a new collective mentality, free
\nfrom the damage caused by 30 years of brainwashing in an era of
\nviolence, intrigue, foul play and dishonest politics,\" he said.
\n(swe)<\/p>",
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