Are bloody thumbprints effective?

By Aleksius Jemadu

BANDUNG, West Java (JP): A leftist political leader from El Salvador once said: "When history can no longer be written by ink, it must be written by blood". Fanatic supporters of Megawati Soekarnoputri, the chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), seemed to be saying the same thing when they gave their bloody thumb prints in a show of support for her presidential bid.

While it is their political right to support any political leader they want, the use of blood as "political language" can have very serious and dangerous political consequences. Can we stop this "thumb print" phenomenon?

Blood always symbolizes human life. Those who give their bloody thumb prints want to tell other people that they are ready to sacrifice their lives in order to achieve their political goal.

It is important to note, however, that this phenomenon does not take place in a political vacuum. As a political action, it coexists with other political actions. Thus, it is constructed in a certain political context. For instance, as the victory of PDI Perjuangan in the general election seems inevitable, there is immediately a systematic effort by Megawati's political opponents to degenerate the importance of such popularity by using various deceitful maneuvers.

Things are made complicated by "deadly weapons" being used to oppose Megawati's presidential nomination. Those who raise the issue of gender know very well that Megawati cannot (and would not, I imagine) change her gender for the sake of a presidential office.

On top of that, her opponents have stated that she will run the risk of opposing the religion of the majority if she continues her struggle. They pretend to ignore the fact that most of Megawati's supporters in the elections are also followers of this religion.

Resistance to Megawati's presidential nomination from certain officials within President B.J. Habibie's government is no less provocative. The use of certain criteria for presidential office, such as a university degree, a possible delay of the General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) and a hasty discussion of the bill on presidential power, which was allegedly meant to eliminate Megawati's chances of being elected, just indicate how those in power attempt to impose their will upon the people.

It is then no exaggeration to suggest that the phenomenon of "bloody thumb prints" signifies an unbalanced political battle between the powerful and the powerless. It is an unbalanced battle because the former have religious and political power while the latter have nothing except hope for a better social and economic situation under the new leadership. Thus, it is not an entirely new battle. It has already begun, as the grassroots were for a long time oppressed under the former regime of president Soeharto. It seems to be an unwritten law that when people demand justice, the government gives "just ice". The dubious handling of so many corruption cases by the current government is particularly annoying to the people.

Those who have nothing to rely on in an existential political struggle tend to sacrifice everything, including their own lives, to achieve their goals. The Habibie government, or whoever has any idea to resist the will of the majority of the people, is expected to see the message behind their struggle in its context. The more the incumbent government tries to deny PDI Perjuangan's victory in the elections and the popularity of its chairwoman, the more irrational will be the methods used by the people to make their message heard.

However, Megawati's fanatic supporters need to be told that in a noble politics the end can never justify the means. At the same time, Megawati herself should realize that the fanaticism of her supporters could kill her own political carrier in the future.

What if "president Megawati" failed to fulfill the expectations of her supporters? Her strong opposition to any form of authoritarianism is not in itself a guarantee for the quality of her leadership or effectiveness of governing. Moreover, the political and economic challenges of the next government are formidable. Thus, the bloody thumb prints can be a double-edged sword.

The writer is a lecturer at the Department of International Relations of the Parahyangan Catholic University in Bandung, West Java.