Quick recap of events of 2001

Quick recap of events of 2001

From Panji

The hustle and bustle of politics has become a daily cause for
concern these days. The political tone for 2001 has been set, and
it's not very pleasing to the ears. This is clear from the
maneuvers of the House of Representatives through its committee
investigating the Bulog Brunei scandals, which gave birth to the
first memorandum of censure. This was followed by demonstrations
demanding President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid to resign, which
in turn was followed by demonstrations of support for the
President. One rally ran into the other, ending up in clashes
between the opposing camps and acts of destruction as vandalism,
as seen in East Java.

The issuance of the first memorandum was accompanied by
intense discussions of the need for a special session of the
People's Consultative Assembly to begin impeachment proceedings
against the President. And the whole situation worsened when
ethnic violence erupted in Sampit, Central Kalimantan, as Gus Dur
prepared for a foreign visit. In the meantime, Gus Dur's
political opponents have become more powerful and vocal, accusing
Gus Dur of incompetence in leading the nation.

Given these circumstances, many people took up the demand that
Gus Dur go. The anti-Gus Dur camp consolidated and mass rallies
were held to demand Gus Dur resign. All of this intensified
public opinion.

With such political instability, who really benefits? Is it to
the advantage of the currency speculators, with the exchange rate
of the rupiah continually falling? Or the political elite, who
are becoming increasingly energetic in their efforts to topple
Gus Dur? What is clear is that the war of words between the
political elite is becoming heated and causing much pain to the
people, and only time can tell when physical clashes at the
grassroots level will erupt.

To find a solution to the present political turmoil, the
political elite must meet face-to-face in an amicable atmosphere.
They must stop using the mass media as a battleground to condemn
each other. The whole thing will get even worse if the
conflicting political elite use their supporters as shields or
political bulldozers.

All these differences of opinion could be settled if there
were good intentions on all sides, given the fact that both Gus
Dur and his political opponents are Islamic leaders. So why don't
they show some political ethics, instead of resorting to the
politics without faith that we see today.

YUSUF MAKKA

Bandung