Sukarno's children vie for father's heritage

Sukarno's children vie for father's heritage

JAKARTA (JP): Amid the media hype and public adulation marking
the 100th anniversary of Sukarno's birth on Wednesday, the
occasion has in many respects been clouded over by arguments and
recriminations over who are the true inheritors of the former
president's legacy.

While Sukarno's courage personified Indonesia's independence
struggle and remains an example to be emulated, his teachings
have been relegated to no more than a footnote in modern
Indonesian history.

With the demise of the Soeharto regime, Sukarno's name has
enjoyed renewed popularity and political significance in recent
years. This has been especially true since the ascendance of
Megawati Soekarnoputri, Sukarno's second eldest daughter, to the
vice presidency.

But nowhere is the debate on the true legacy of Sukarno more
apparent than between the Sukarno children themselves.

Few would doubt that Megawati's popularity is in no small part
due to her father's name.

In a thinly veiled attack on Megwati's party -- the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) -- Rachmawati here
on Wednesday chided the abuse of Sukarno's legacy for political
purposes.

Speaking during a graduation ceremony at the Bung Karno
University which was held to coincide with the centenary of
Sukarno's birth, Rachmawati criticized the PDI Perjuangan --
which she referred to obliquely as "a certain party which won the
most votes in the 1999 election" -- for adopting attributes
associated with Sukarno but having little understanding of his
teachings.

Rachmawati, who chairs the Bung Karno Foundation, charged that
the party had been successful in the general election in large
part due to superfluous use of the Sukarno name along with
campaign placards and flags bearing the former Indonesian
president's image.

"Carrying around pictures of Bung Karno does not guarantee
that those people understand the teachings of Sukarno," she said
at the ceremony, which was held at the Jakarta Convention Center
and was also attended by President Abdurrahman Wahid.

Contriving terms such as "de-Sukarnoization", Rachmawati
lamented the various misinterpretations of her father due to
numerous manipulations of his teachings.

Rachmawati, three years Megawati's junior, remarked that the
members of the political elite had lost their sense of
camaraderie and brotherhood and were instead resorting to violent
measures to pursue their individual interests.

While she herself lamented the political exploitation of
Sukarno's name, Rachmawati could not refrain from commenting that
there were certain groups who were again trying to launch a coup,
such as experienced by her father in 1965 and 1966, in the name
of the constitution and democracy.

"Bung Karno always said "if you want to catch the rats,
there's no need to burn down the house."

Rachmawati is known to have taken a less combative political
stance than Megawati in accepting Abdurrahman's embattled
presidency.

Abdurrahman himself in his address called for the Bung Karno
University to straighten out the history on Sukarno.

Megawati, who was also in the building at the same time to
preside over another ceremony, did not stop by the hall to attend
her sister's event.

Likewise, later in the afternoon Rachmawati was absent during
a large commemoration at the Bung Karno sports complex which was
attended by Megawati.

Guntur Soekarnoputra, Sukarno's eldest offspring, said later
in the afternoon that the reason why his sisters did not attend
the same events was due to their tight schedules.

"There are so many celebrations that we have to attend that we
have decided to split up so that every event can be attended by a
family member," explained Guntur while refusing to comment on the
possibility of a family feud. (dja)