Indonesian democracy

Something was terribly wrong with the face of Indonesia's democracy last week. As the nation continues to observe people's rights to freedom of expression, several demonstrations, whether in support of or against President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, were characterized by violence, or threats of violence. And the power of the mob still ruled the day. Since everybody seems to be doing it, a foreign observer would be forgiven thinking that the use of mob violence is very much in vogue in Indonesian politics.

First it was the university students, who are part of the network of Student Executive Bodies (BEMs). After failing to generate even the slightest public interest over their call to join a national strike on Monday as part of their campaign to pressure President Abdurrahman to resign, they conducted a sit-in at the compound of the House of Representatives (DPR) Building in Jakarta to press their demands. There were brief street scuffles between BEM members and pro-Abdurrahman groups of students, where molotov cocktails were used, and dozens of these were found afterwards.

The students' acts were followed by counter-demonstrations from Gus Dur's supporters, who took to the streets in Jakarta and several towns in East Java. Many of them were brandishing swords, knives and machetes just to make their point that they were prepared to kill in their cause to defend their leader.

In Jakarta and in the East Java town of Banyuwangi, the protesters attacked and vandalized the offices of Golkar, which they considered a symbol of the old repressive and corrupt regime of Soeharto. Protesters also blocked Ketapang, the port at Banyuwangi, paralyzing the ferry services between Java and Bali for several hours.

The pro-Gus Dur protesters issued a list of public figures whom they threatened to kidnap or even kill unless their demands -- for the dissolution of Golkar and for the House of Representatives to rescind its memorandum of censure against the President -- were met. Topping their hit list were the two men foremost in the campaign to unseat the President: the Golkar chairman and House Speaker, Akbar Tandjung, and Amien Rais, the chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly. Like the anti-Gus Dur students, these demonstrators also briefly occupied the DPR building.

Events of the past week mirrored the sad face of Indonesia's society. Barely three years after ending more than three decades of suppression, the country is now fast plunging into anarchy. For some people, the freedom to express their opinions, a sacred right in a democracy, is obviously not enough. They want to impose their views on others, and to do this, they are resorting to the mob, or the use or threat of physical violence. This is not at all that different from the Soeharto years, except that this time around, everybody is doing it, while in those days, the division between the oppressor and the oppressed was clearer.

Sadly, not a single one of the country's current political leaders has come out to condemn publicly the violent demonstrations last week. If anything, they appeared to have condoned or even encouraged the behavior of their own supporters, even when these bordered on violence that could threaten to undermine the country's nascent democracy.

Some analysts have made excuses for Indonesia's present day condition as a symptom of a nation in transition from authoritarian rule to democracy. Indonesia indeed is in a period of transition, but where exactly where it is heading is not clear. Looking at the events of the past week, it seems to be towards a deteriorating state of affairs.