Trisakti, four years later<\/p>\n
On this day, May 13, as readers open these pages, gatherings
\nwill no doubt be held at various places throughout the country to
\ncommemorate the events that took place exactly four years ago,
\nwhich shook the nation out of its lethargy and set the movement
\nfor democratic reform rolling. To be more precise, however, that
\nday, May 13, 1998, merely marked the peak of violence in a string
\nof events that ultimately forced then president Soeharto from
\npower. That happened eight days later, on May 21.<\/p>\n
For those who are not familiar with the events of that time,
\nwhat happened, in the proverbial nutshell, was this: On May 12,
\nwith the student movement across the country clearly showing
\nsigns of coagulating and student unrest spreading everywhere,
\nstudents of Trisakti University started one of the largest
\nantigovernment demonstrations in front of their campus in West
\nJakarta. It was, by all accounts, despite the noise, a peaceful
\ndemonstration. However, as the students started to return to
\ntheir campus, four of them were shot dead by sniper fire.<\/p>\n
Their funeral the following day, attended by thousands, set in
\nmotion a violent flood of long pent-up discontent during which,
\nfor two days, hordes of people, consisting mostly of Jakarta's
\nurban poor, looted and burned all they came across in one of the
\nlargest rampaging sprees the city had ever experienced. Chinese-
\nowned shops and business establishments bore the brunt of the
\nrage. This was the trigger that set in motion the final downfall
\nof Soeharto.<\/p>\n
But while not everyone is agreed on what precisely transpired
\nduring and immediately following those incidents until the fall
\nof the erstwhile Indonesian autocrat, it seems, with hindsight,
\nthat it was the sacrifice of the lives of the four Trisakti
\nstudents that gave the final impetus to set the reform movement
\nmoving.<\/p>\n
Having reached that conclusion, it seems proper for us at this
\npoint to ask ourselves whether that sacrifice was not made in
\nvain. The point is that for most of those who were directly
\ninvolved in setting the reform movement rolling, precious little
\nhas been achieved today, four years after what has become known
\nas the Trisakti Case. or Incident?<\/p>\n
It is true that the realities of life normally mean that
\nchange occurs slowly. Nevertheless, it is frustrating these days
\nto see how our politicians handle affairs of state as if no
\nradical change had taken place. Group interests still rule and
\nthe power of money still seems to be as strong as ever.<\/p>\n
In places such as Maluku, where sectarian strife has raged for
\nyears and taken thousands of lives, no satisfactory resolution of
\nthe conflict seems to be in sight as, again, group interests vie
\nfor dominance.<\/p>\n
As legislators bicker among themselves and with the executive,
\nthe forces of resistance against amending the 1945 Constitution
\nappear to be left hanging in the balance and conservatism is
\nhampering even the formation of a commission on the Constitution.<\/p>\n
For those who are currently in a position of power, the
\nmessage from all of this is that those who fail to heed the
\nlessons of history are prone to repeat the old mistakes. History
\nhas proven that even in a developing country such as Indonesia,
\ndemocracy, with all its shortcomings, is still the most workable
\nsystem of government. In a case where democracy appears to be
\nhard to achieve, the remedy should not be sought via a return to
\nauthoritarian rule, which would only sweep existing problems
\nunder the proverbial carpet.<\/p>\n
Let this lesson therefore be learned. Too many sacrifices have
\nalready occurred at the altar of Indonesian democracy to betray
\nthose who made them.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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