Urgent action needed

Notwithstanding the buoyant first reactions to Sunday's meeting between Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto and a number of religious, political and community leaders known as the "Ciganjur-plus" group, one should not be surprised that many people remain skeptical about that unprecedented encounter.

One could perhaps argue that in Indonesia's current situation, any effort, however small, to end the recurring violence and overcome the crisis is better than no effort at all. After all, most Indonesians, with the possible exception of those who have a stake in preserving the status quo, agree that a national dialog toward reconciliation is needed to bring about a peaceful recovery.

Unfortunately, the question that many Indonesians are asking themselves is what possible effect such a meeting can have at this point, now that the country already seems to be teetering on the brink of civil war. Such a rapprochement, if it had occurred immediately after the fall of Soeharto and was followed up with concrete and meaningful steps toward reconciliation, might indeed have effectively ended the economic and political turmoil. That chance was wasted. At this stage, much more than words and promises are needed to achieve the same.

Regarding Sunday's meeting, it is interesting to note the suggestion made by the chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights, Marzuki Darusman, as quoted in this newspaper on Tuesday, that "we are nearing a point where Wiranto will have to make a break with his past ... and he needs the greatest support now from these civilian elite figures to be able to distance himself from that past." Wiranto, according to Marzuki, might need the support of civilian leaders to counter pressure within the Armed Forces originating from groups linked to the past regime of Soeharto. "I think the military has a complete picture of what is going on in the country in terms of outbreaks of unrest now, and it is not a question of whether or not they are going to take action, but rather it is a matter of when they will be in a position to do so."

Conjectural as it might seem, Marzuki Darusman's assessment of the situation happens to concur quite nicely with the picture that many others have expressed. National Mandate Party chairman Amien Rais phrased this public suspicion quite well when he asked Gen. Wiranto to arrest all the "intellectual actors" behind the unrest, pointing out that the recent riots appeared too well organized, sophisticated and too well financed to have been either spontaneous outbursts of emotion or instigated by ordinary street hoodlums.

Such a scenario appears much less far-fetched than skeptics may imagine when one takes into consideration the huge vested interests at stake for those who have built their empires over more than three decades of authoritarian rule. Consider, too, that most of our bureaucrats and government leaders now still in power were part and parcel of the old Soeharto regime, and think of the tentacles of power they must have grown during that period, and one can see the immensity of the handicap the reformers face.

Yet, it is the removal of those very handicaps that is the key to reform. For Indonesians -- and for President Habibie's Development and Reform government and the Armed Forces leadership in particular -- there seems to be no other choice but to exercise their consciences and work with speed and urgency toward that goal, something they have so far failed to do. At this stage in our national crisis, words and promises are no longer enough. Action is needed, and soon, as time is running out. Now more than ever the nation needs a strong, but also wise, leadership.