Political cartoon

I am writing in reference to your political cartoon titled The campaigners trio (Feb. 21). I wonder if the cartoonist was inspired to draw this cartoon from a front page photo which appeared in your newspaper on Aug 21, 1996. The photo shows the government-backed heads of the three political parties locked arm in arm, smiling and in perfect harmony.

The photo impressed me so much that I cut it out and filed it under political hypocrisy. It now has a mate. Maybe your cartoonist also finds the sham of Indonesian politics to be, at times, almost sickening. Better to laugh than cry, right?

Isn't it obvious the three political parties are just an illusion of democracy? Do Indonesian people have a political process in which they can truly choose an alternative to what they presently have? It is obvious there is a lot of dissatisfaction with the status quo. Your cartoonist clearly suggests there is no difference between the political parties.

Megawati Soekarnoputri represents the only real alternative. That's why she had to be politically eliminated. If not elected she would have proved an embarrassment to the power elite and her success would have opened a Pandora's box, especially given the large ground swell of support for her campaign.

We always think the "garden looks greener on the other side of the fence". This way of thinking is reinforced when one looks across the fence from his kampong and sees mansions and Mercedes Benz, but struggles to put food on the table, clothe and educate his children. Desperate men do desperate things.

Are people supporting Megawati because they really believe she possesses a superior ability to make a better president, or are they desperately looking for economic equality and a truly democratic government?

Once the genii of pure democracy and people power is let out, who knows what unsettling events may come about? At least now we have a known quantity. To exchange this and present progress for the unknown is quite a gamble. Pure democracy is wonderful in theory, but it can be dangerous as unbridled freedom.

Thanks to your cartoonist for pointing out the absurdity of the present campaign process in Indonesia. Would he be willing to view this problem from the prospective of national progress and stability? Is it possible for your cartoonist to be thankful for the unity of the song? Isn't the encouraged, or even forced, harmony for the sake of national stability and progress, better than some imagined alternatives?

Instead of being too critical of present inconsistencies we see, maybe we should try to blend our voices in a national anthem of political harmony and consensus.

DAN ADAMS

Jakarta