Indonesian democracy

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.