Hopes for a better Indonesia

While I wrote this on May 19, 1999, far away in England, my thoughts went back to the same day, a year ago, when we lived in Indonesia.

On this same day, we got a phone call in the morning from concerned people in our company and were told to leave Jakarta for Singapore, as massive unrest was expected. So, together with thousands of other people, many much more desperate and determined not to return, we made it to Singapore in the early hours of the following days.

The rest is history. The unrest did not come and Soeharto abdicated. In the year since then, eagerly following the developments from England, many things have happened in Indonesia. There is a little bit more democracy these days, there are elections (again), the economy shows signs of recovery, to mention some of the good developments.

On the other hand, there is still a government that is closely linked to the past, the military still kills innocent people, there is still oppression, there are many more people hungry and without hope for their future, there is still cronyism, nepotism, corruption and collusion.

Still, those responsible for the past have not been brought to justice, or just went through some legal motions without any verdicts being passed, not that it really was expected.

Now there is bloodshed all over the country in those provinces that were forced to be part of the Republic in the past. Again, this bloodshed is not only of a political nature, but unfortunately, is marred by religious and ethnic considerations that in this respect do not separate Indonesia much from Kosovo. The forthcoming elections in all probability will not do much to improve the situation. There will still be the old cronies forming part of the government, new parties will be involved as well, the decision-making will probably be even more difficult and, of course, there will still be the military.

A year after my departure, I wish I could write something more positive, but all I can do is hope for a miracle that will make this happen.

All my best wishes are with the good people of Indonesia and their struggle for a better future in freedom and prosperity. It is a long and thorny road till then, but it has been successfully taken by others before.

ROLAND WOEHRLE

Cambridge, UK