Is history repeating itself?

Is history repeating itself?

Dualism in government is again becoming a feature of
Indonesian life. In the United States, as happened recently, a
presidential candidate with a majority of votes is even prepared
to concede defeat to a lesser candidate for the sake of unity.
In Indonesia, on the other hand, competition and bickering
between different political factions are currently leading to a
massive rift in government (and particularly in the military and
police) which, given the refusal of various parties to compromise
for the sake of this nation, is only likely to widen until
anarchy once again reigns here.

Despite all their naive claims to the contrary, the military
and police cannot and do not play an apolitical and neutral role
in this country. All the politicking of the military and police
chiefs of recent weeks is a testament to this. Indeed, when one
has two masters in the form of President Abdurrahman Wahid on the
one hand and Megawati Soekarnoputri and the House of
Representatives on the other, even by default, the military will
be taking sides. The military is in an extremely invidious
position while the country's leaders use division to further
their political ambitions.

This, of course, plays into the hands of both foreign and
certain elite Indonesian interests, who, as predators, lie in
wait to scoop up the riches of Indonesia that should rightly
benefit all the people of this prolific land.

If this does happen, history will be repeating itself. In the
1950s and 1960s the United States did all it could to foster
division in Indonesia by: supporting local rebellions,
instigating race riots, financing, arming and training right-wing
factions within the Indonesian Army, and even by striking
lucrative deals between right-wing military factions and U.S.
corporations. The consequence was de facto dualism in government
and this finally culminated in the toppling of president Sukarno
in 1965/66, nationwide bloodshed and the New Order dictatorship
that lasted more than three decades.

The predators then were Soeharto's cronies, and American and
European companies such as Unilever, Uniroyal, Goodyear Tire and
Rubber Company, who, obligingly, had their previously
nationalized assets returned to them, often under the protection
of soldiers commanded by American-trained officers. Many other
Western companies then arrived to share in the immense spoils a
newly compliant Indonesia, with its vast natural resources, had
to offer.

At this juncture, all Indonesians and particularly the
Indonesian press, should be asking themselves if they really want
a repeat of these traumatic, debilitating and destructive events.
If Indonesia as a whole is going to reap the harvest of its own
abundant resources, it must see the urgent necessity to put aside
egos and their concomitant bickering and corruption, so as not to
lose control of Indonesia's riches to those who may lie in wait.

FRANK RICHARDSON

Jakarta