A time of reckoning

The choice is stark for Indonesia's President, Mr. Abdurrahman Wahid. Either he moves to assert his authority in a real manner or he allows renegade forces to determine his agenda, writes AMIT BARUAH.

NOT MANY world leaders would like to be in the shoes of the Indonesian President, Mr. Abdurrahman Wahid. He presides over a crisis-ridden nation, unsure of his power and authority at a time when Gen. Suharto's cronies and multiple separatist elements are challenging the state from within.

The September 13 bomb blast that ripped through the Jakarta Stock Exchange building, a day before the former dictator, Gen. Suharto, was to appear in court, came as a severe blow to Mr. Wahid's prestige and authority. The blast demonstrated that he was not in control of the country; that rogue elements were demonstrating their power with telling effect - undermining both state and society.

It also revealed that the ``new democracy'' which replaced the ``new order'' of Gen. Suharto was still stumbling along; more involved in the power play between factions and parties than a serious effort to strengthen civil society and rid it off the old authoritarian baggage.

Mr. Wahid did act. He first ``ordered'' the arrest of Mr. Tommy (or Mr. Hutamo Mandala Putra) Suharto; an order which was ignored by police bosses in the country and which caused severe embarrassment for the President. Soon, he sacked the national police chief, Gen. Rusdiharjo, and followed up that action by ``honourably'' discharging the deputy Army commander, Gen. Fachrul Razi. Though the official reason for the discharge was given as an effort to ``streamline'' the command, the message was clear.

The President has been pushed to the wall by the rogue elements within the security establishment - either he acts or turns into a bystander. The old approach of gradually reforming the military and simultaneously taking on the remnants of the ``new order'' does not seem to be working. It is not as if the Jakarta blast was the first of its kind. The murder of three United Nations staffers in Atambua, West Timor, on September 6 and a small blast before Gen. Suharto's trial date on August 30, and two other explosions, definitely form a pattern.

The problem for Indonesia is that while many people speak of the pattern and the involvement of rogue elements from within the military, there has been little evidence advanced so far. One of the reasons for the lack of evidence could be that the police (which has only recently been separated from the military command) are scared to investigate.

In fact, responsible Indonesian officials have referred to the fact that the trail in the Jakarta blast investigation did lead to some rogue elements. However, little progress has been made in the investigation so far.

Here, it needs to be recalled, that Gen. Suharto, his immediate family and numerous other cronies continue to enjoy the benefit of their massive wealth. Analysts point out that the family-crony alliance is in a position to pump in funds and still influence the course of events in the country.

The blast at the stock exchange and the lynching of the three U.N. staffers has also led to a downturn in Jakarta's relations with the international community, leading to open demands that Indonesia end the militia menace in West Timor once and for all.

In an editorial, The Jakarta Post points out that the U.S.-led Western world is gravely concerned about Mr. Wahid's control over the military.

``To them, Atambua and the (Jakarta) bomb blast challenge the virtue of democracy and betray the principle of non- violence.''

``Concerned over values, the West may overlook the urgency of other priorities. Atambua and exerting authority are critical to Abdurrahman (Wahid). However, he has also to deal with the problem of Aceh, where more than 60 people have been killed in the fighting in the past fortnight alone, and in the islands of Maluku, where there have been no meaningful steps toward reaching a permanent end to the 21-month conflict. It is hard to gauge which is the most serious crisis facing President Abdurrahman,'' the newspaper argued.

``Indonesia cannot go back to its autocratic past; neither can it ensure stability under the current system... the passing months have shown that the legislature has failed to become an effective working body...'' the editorial said. ``To Abdurrahman, the trial of Suharto could well be a final apocalyptic struggle between the forces of good and evil. It is not just about the trial of graft, but whether Indonesia is willing to come to terms with its history,'' it added.

The choice is stark. Either the President moves to assert his authority in a real manner (rather than taking symbolic gestures), or he allows renegade forces in Indonesian society to determine his agenda. With the legislature constantly sniping at Mr. Wahid, and now setting up Parliamentary panels to investigate charges of corruption against him, the reform agenda seems to be getting lost.

As many countries round the world have learnt, democracy is not about merely holding elections and giving legislators the power to abuse the executive. It is about developing a democratic culture, which allows for differences without sabotaging a larger national trajectory.

For Indonesia, democracy is still a young system. The current distortions are perhaps inevitable for a country which is still trying to come to terms with democracy. It is, however, apparent that anti-democratic forces are taking advantage of the drift in governance to ram home their agenda with telling effect.

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