'Govt aware of rising civil society'

As was the case during the run-up to past general elections, suggestions on who should be the leaders of this country are making headlines. Sociologist Arief Budiman notes that there is a more important agenda to undertake for the sake of democracy than hassling over who the nation's future leaders will be.

SALATIGA, Central Java (JP): When we talk about democracy, we basically talk about people power. Democracy does not exist only because there is legislation to limit state power and guarantee the people's participation in decision-making. Although these legislative acts are important, without people power, the state can ignore them. So for those who want to fight for democracy, the first thing on their agenda has to be people empowerment.

This applies to Indonesia as well. However, many people here usually begin discussions on democracy with a question on "the man behind the gun".

With an eye on the 1998 presidential election, the debate is about whether Soeharto will continue to be president for a seventh term, and whether Try Sutrisno will be replaced by another military general or a civilian.

These factors seem to be considered as the most important issues that will determine the prospect of democracy. Although they are important, they will not mean much if we do not talk about the existence of people power.

Has people power already existed in Indonesia?

My answer is yes, or at least it is emerging and becoming stronger. The case of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) is most telling.

It is quite clear that at one point last year, the government wanted to replace then PDI chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri. So, a political-cum-military operation was launched, and very shortly, she was replaced by Soerjadi. The PDI headquarters was taken over by force at the expense of some people's lives.

This "intervention" by the government was not the first. In previous cases, the operations have always been successful. The new leaders of the party backed by the government would survive, and the ones that did not receive the government's blessings would fade away.

However, the recent turn of events indicate otherwise. Soerjadi was being opposed in almost every region, while Megawati's popularity soared. She is still de facto leader of the majority of PDI's members. Soerjadi was booed by thousands of a soccer match audience in Senayan a few months ago and was almost beaten up recently by the masses at a PDI rally in the East Java town of Wonogiri. It is very clear that the people are dissatisfied with the government's scenario and unlike previously, they express their feelings openly.

The assassination of journalist Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin in Yogyakarta after he wrote a report against corrupt practices allegedly committed by a local regent is another case. The police appear to have refused to question the regent, who theoretically had a strong motivation to kill him. Instead, the police allegedly tried to bribe somebody to admit to the killing. However, the people, including the local journalists' association, reacted strongly against the police. They set up their own fact-finding committee, backed by the people. Together with the National Commission on Human Rights, they continue to contest the police version of the homicide.

Another case in point is the recent handshake between President Soeharto and Abdurrahman Wahid, the leader of the biggest Moslem organization in Indonesia, in an East Java town.

After his reelection as chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) in December 1994, there had been a persistent effort to dethrone him. President Soeharto had refused to meet him after the reelection, fueling speculation that the government preferred another person to lead the organization. In spite of all this, Abdurrahman has succeeded in remaining in power.

There are more cases which demonstrate the rising power of the civil society, but the ultimate one is this now famous handshake. There was no talk among them, but symbolically, the handshake is an important event. It tells many things.

First, it is clear that, in the wake of strong resistance against the government's move over PDI, the government will not be able to afford more resistance from NU. If NU and PDI join hands to oppose the government, this will be too much to bear. Consequently, there is no choice for the government but to court NU to preserve political stability.

Second, it implicitly tells us about the failure of the Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI) to control the Moslem masses. ICMI has been set up to mobilize the Moslems to support the government. To a great extent, ICMI has been quite successful, but not enough. NU is still a stumbling block to ICMI's moves.

Third, the handshake is also an implicit acknowledgement by the government that political problems have become too sophisticated and complex to be solved by military means alone. The government seems to have learned a great deal in this respect. The case of East Timor has demonstrated this: The more military means are used, the worse will be the position of Indonesia on the international political stage.

To sum up, it is difficult to deny that civil society in Indonesia is emerging. The government, including President Soeharto, has realized this and has acted accordingly.

True, the political rhetoric of many military officers is still smacking of a security approach, but the above cases indicate that the government is taking the pressure from below more seriously.

If this is correct, we can say that something substantial is happening: the emergence of people power. This phenomenon will surely influence the post-1998 political scene. Whoever will be in power, military or civilian -- or even President Soeharto himself, if he is reelected -- he or she has to deal seriously with this power from below. Democracy may not come instantly, but it surely is emerging.

So, for the people who are concerned with democratization, the main agenda is to strengthen civil society by empowering the people. Betting on the personnel that will become the top leadership of this country will not mean much if the people are still powerless.

The writer is a sociologist and researcher based in Salatiga.