Sixty years on, Indonesia still struggles to achieve Sukarno's

Sixty years on, Indonesia still struggles to achieve Sukarno's vision

Bhimanto Suwastoyo Agence France-Presse/Jakarta

Outside a house in central Jakarta on the morning of Aug. 17, 1945, a small group of nationalists gathered for a simple ceremony to declare independence for the remains of the former Dutch East Indies empire and Indonesia was born.

"It was a simple ceremony. But the lack of pomp and splendor was compensated by our hope. I walked to the microphone stolen from a Japanese radio station and read the proclamation short and concise," said Sukarno, who was to rule the infant nation for 20 years.

"There was no music, no band. After the flag was hoisted we just sung the Indonesia Raya ... It was ten o'clock. The revolution had started," he said, as quoted by Cindy Adams in her book Sukarno.

After three centuries of Dutch colonial rule and three years of Japanese occupation, the world's largest archipelago had been declared one nation, although it was another four years before the Dutch abandoned their attempts to retake their former possession and recognized Indonesia.

The 44-year-old Sukarno, fired by his own unique blend of indigenous, Western and Muslim philosophies, wanted to weld a unified country from the disparate collection of islands and ethnicities.

A charismatic and brilliant orator, the goal of "Bung Karno" ("Big brother Sukarno" as he is affectionately known) was to instill in the diverse peoples of the new country that first and foremost they were Indonesians, rather than Javanese, Sumatrans or Balinese.

Sukarno's vision of a unified and secular country speaking one language was an ideal first adopted at a meeting of young nationalists in 1928 during Dutch rule.

In June 1945, he first outlined his "Pancasila" concept of five national guiding principles: humanitarianism, national unity, democracy, social justice and belief in one God.

This seemed a tall order for a collection of more than 18,000 islands inhabited by more than 300 ethnic groups speaking more than 200 languages.

Sixty years on, Indonesia still seems far from realizing Sukarno's vision and faces new problems with much of the population still mired in poverty.

"Seen from the minimalists' point of view, we are independent, with our own government, people and territory," said Asvi Warman Adam, historian and political observer from the state Indonesian Institute of Sciences.

"But from others' point of view we are still far from having achieved the true meaning of independence -- that the people's basic needs are met and prosperity is there for all," Adam told AFP.

The country is also troubled by ethnic and religious tensions and separatist movements in the chain of islands which stretches almost 5,000 kilometers (3,125 miles) from Sumatra in the west to Papua in the east.

And democracy is a late comer to Indonesia, which last year held its first direct presidential election following the rule of Sukarno, who initially toyed with democracy, and 32 years of repressive dictatorship under the general who usurped him, Soeharto.

"Not everything is stagnant," said Munarman who heads the country's leading rights watchdog, the Indonesian Foundation for Legal Aid.

"We can say that we have progressed as we have now a democracy developing, we have civilian freedom, we have press freedom, but other fundamental rights of the people, such as in access to health and education services, are far from the goals set 60 years ago," Munarman said.

"On nation building, it remains a project that needs to be worked on continuously by all. We all know that we have problems in Aceh, in Papua and in the Malukus and the euphoria after resignation of Soeharto has also seeded separatist sentiments in some other regions," Munarman said.

"Nation building is indeed our nation's major homework." Other analysts agreed nation building was the main problem.

"If we look at the text of the proclamation of independence, we have not really moved far. It starts by: 'We, the Indonesian nation'," said Kusnanto Anggoro, a political scientist with the private think-tank Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Past governments, however, have failed in their efforts at nation building and problems remain with ethnic and communal tensions.

"The question of nation building is still problematic, the Indonesian nation is yet to materialize," he said.

"Can we say that the 'Unity in Diversity' logo on our national symbol has become a reality in Indonesia?"

Sukarno focused on national unity but his mismanagement of the country provoked a takeover by the military after an alleged coup plot and ushered in decades of repression under Soeharto. Now acclaimed as the much-loved but flawed father of the nation, Sukarno died in 1970, under house arrest.

While the pressing challenge for Sukarno was to unite a fragmented nation, Indonesia now faces new and externally imposed problems.

"The challenges faced by the nation then and now are also greatly different. We now have not only to deal with 'localization' but also with globalization," said political scientist Anggoro.

But there is optimism that Indonesia will confront and overcome its problems.

"The problems faced by our nationhood are just like the trivial ailments and discomfort that sometimes affect us. The nation will certainly overcome them," historian Adam said.