Abdurrahman's absence
Abdurrahman's absence
There is no doubt many Indonesians are having difficulty
deciding whether to be reassured or worried that the military has
put itself on heightened alert "to anticipate any possible
disturbances" during President Abdurrahman Wahid's 16-day absence
from the country.
If anything, the President's assurance -- no doubt intended to
comfort the nation -- that "almost all" military officers are
loyal to him and that "only a handful" of "cowardly" officers may
be disloyal, has helped heighten the climate of uncertainty he is
leaving behind.
No one questions Abdurrahman's good intentions in making his
fourth overseas trip in the less than four months he has been in
office. His assertion that he is not going abroad "for fun" is
rather superfluous given his widely known preference for living
simply.
Like his earlier trips abroad, his present tour, which will
cover 13 countries including Saudi Arabia and several countries
in Europe and Asia, is aimed essentially at rallying more
economic aid for the country as well as securing recognition of
Indonesia's territorial integrity.
Given the pledges of economic and political support which the
President has so far received from foreign governments, including
the United States and China, it can be surmised that his overseas
trips indeed have been beneficial for Indonesia.
The problem is that this time the President is leaving his
country in a climate of grave uncertainty. The President's light-
hearted refutals notwithstanding, rumors of a possible military
coup have refused to die. Indeed, the rumors appeared to gain in
strength after Abdurrahman's departure from Jakarta on Friday.
In the already fidgety market, the rumors created enough
further uncertainty to cause the Jakarta Stock Exchange to fall
by around 1.5 percent on Friday. The rupiah also dropped slightly
during the week.
In the meantime, sectarian clashes in Maluku continued to
flare during the past week, albeit at apparently reduced
intensity. And with the continuing casualties in Aceh on the side
of both the government and the separatist rebels, neither does
the unrest in the country's westernmost province appear to be
anywhere near a lasting conclusion.
Overall, security disturbances in the country show no sign of
subsiding in the foreseeable future. Terrorists and provocateurs
even appear to be broadening their scope of operations to such
previously peaceful areas as Yogyakarta, where security officers
were able to prevent a bomb from destroying the city's grand
mosque -- an act that could easily have turned this ancient city
into the country's latest hot spot of sectarian violence.
With all this anxiety and uncertainty, the country has been
left in the charge of Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri,
whose popularity among the masses is unquestioned, but whose
experience in matters of government remains untested. Given the
circumstances, the best one can hope for is that Abdurrahman's
confidence that nothing will happen during his 16-day absence
derives from hard intelligence rather than mere intuition.
As for the Vice President, this is her opportunity to show the
nation and the world that she does indeed have the capacity to
lead the nation, even if it is one careful step at a time, toward
a better future.