Public conveys hopes to the new president
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
As the inauguration ceremony of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Jusuf Kalla was being broadcast throughout the archipelago, 75- year-old Mardiyem closed the two-and-a-half-page letter she had written in Javanese to the new administration:
"The previous administrations have neglected us ... Through this letter, I ask you to urge the Japanese government to issue an official apology to us and ask that your administration care more about us."
Mardiyem and two friends, Suharti, 75, and Lasiyem, 80, are the only ones left of the 49 Yogyakarta women who were taken from their families to live in concentration camps and to serve as sex slaves to Japanese soldiers during World War II.
Mardiyem was 13 when she was taken to a camp run by the South Kalimantan Japanese command in 1942. She was released after Indonesia declared independence in August 1945.
Although the Japanese government has provided compensation through the Indonesian government to the comfort women, or juugun ianfu in Japanese, doubts remain that it reached the victims.
Upon the change of guard at the presidential palace on Wednesday, many marginalized individuals such as Mardiyem, activists and nationwide organizations held peaceful rallies to convey their hopes, aspirations and demands to the Susilo administration.
In Jakarta, the Indonesian Muslim Student Front (KAMMI) reminded Susilo of his campaign promise to fight corruption, to uphold supremacy of the law and to improve people's welfare.
"We and the people will be watching you during your first 100 days in office," the students chanted during a rally outside the People's Consultative Assembly, where the inauguration of President Susilo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla was taking place on Wednesday morning.
KAMMI's rally was followed by another held by hundreds of members of the People's Movement for Law Supremacy (Humanis) and the Student Executive Bodies (BEM) of universities in Greater Jakarta.
Meanwhile, in Bandung, the National Students Front (FMN) demanded that the new administration focus on the education sector, as six million children dropped out of primary and secondary school in 2003.
The Surabaya chapter of KAMMI urged Susilo not to appoint those implicated in the abuse of state funds to his Cabinet, as they had contributed to the country's massive foreign debt.
"We also want the new administration to uphold civil supremacy and stand by the people (not political parties)," the students said.
Another group, Barisan Oposisi, comprising the Democratic People's Party (PRD) and the National Democratic Students League (LMND), urged the new administration to try military officers involved in human rights abuses and to withdraw troops from conflict-torn Aceh and Papua in a bid to open doors to a more democratic, peaceful resolution to the separatism issue.
In addition, "The new government should be independent from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other donor groups," the group demanded.
Activists and residents of Madura Island, East Java, are waiting for the new administration to annul the controversial plan to construct a nuclear power plant on the island, as promised.
"In his campaign on Madura, Susilo said the nuclear power plant was the last resort to meet Madura's power demand. The island has safer, natural resources, which are still untapped, to build a fuel power plant or geothermal power plant big enough to light the island," said a Madurese activist, Mutmainah.