POLITICS-INDONESIA: Suharto Returns Home to an Angry Nation

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Kafil Yamin

JAKARTA, May 15 1998 (IPS) - The government moved to restore order in the Indonesian capital on Friday after a day of violence and destruction that left dozens of people dead as President Suharto arrived home to face the biggest challenge to his 32-year rule. In his first directive aimed at quelling the unrest, Suharto revoked price hikes for fuel and electricity prices, which triggered the rash of demonstrations which turned bloody this week.

Jakarta was calmer on Friday but the situation remained tense and thousands of people — expatriates and ethnic Chinese — prepared to flee the city devastated by looting, burning and wanton destruction.

Business ground to a halt as offices were deserted and foreign businessmen and their families moved to safer places like hotels in the city centre.

Police say they recovered about 130 bodies in a shopping centre that was torched by looters on Thursday. Angry mobs also burned cars, ransacked shops and even private property belonging to groups identified with the Suharto family and their associates.

The military, which was helpless during the chaos on Thursday, increased their presence on the streets, deploying tanks, trucks and armoured personnel carriers to deter any more mass actions.

Defence minister Wiranto warned rioters and looters to stop their destructive behaviour saying “the military will not hesitate to act harshly”.

Major-general Prabowo Subianto, commander of the army’s strategic reserve and Suharto’s son-in-law, said: “The (military) is pro- reform but against any form of destruction. I call on all groups of society to create stability and peace because reform can only be carried out under stability and a peaceful situation.”

Suharto, who was in Cairo for a G-15 summit when chaos broke out earlier in the week, declared he was willing to step down, although it looks now that the decision is for the people — and not him — to make.

“If I am no longer trusted, I will become (a sage) and endeavor to get closer to God… I will guide the community and give advices. I will (provide support from behind),” the Jakarta Post quoted him as saying.

His remarks were prompted by demands for him to step down amidst the worsening economic crisis. The calls for his resignation grew louder after he raised fuel and electricity prices as part of reforms sought by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

But it was the killing by security forces of the six student demonstrators on Tuesday which triggered the frenzy of violence on Thursday which turned Jakarta into a war zone, terrifying both local and foreign businessmen.

The shooting incident galvanised the political opposition to Suharto, putting more pressure on the government to decide swiftly how to defuse the situation.

A group of intellectuals, activists and other pro-reform figures, led by prominent lawyer Adnan Buyung Nasution, marched to the parliament building to ask the House to convene to consider the worsening political situation.

They were received by House Speaker Harmoko, a close Suharto ally, who said the House will convene to consider Suharto’s offer to quit. “Mr President has said he’s willing to resign. We will discuss it right away. But we need time to prepare that. There rules to follow,” Harmoko told the group.

Another opposition figure, Amin Rais, renewed his call for the military to decide immediately whether it would side with the majority or continue in its current stance of protecting the interests of only a handful.

Security forces had clashed with student demonstrators on many occasions but on Thursday, at the height of the rioting, some soliders were seen keeping to the sidelines, some of them even shaking hands with protesters.

Political scientist Deliar Noer said that judging from the behaviour of the soldiers on Thursday and Tuesday, when the shooting incident occurred, it was becoming clear that troops weare getting different orders from different commanders.

“It is obvious to me that the military now is not united,” he said.

Another analyst believes that tougher measures, did not come from Wiranto, who is also the armed forces chied. “I think such stern order had come from Prabowo,” he said.

Deliar Noer said he doubts Suharto’s sincerity in wanting to step down to avert further violence, but added that the president did not have much of a choice.

“They [students] have gained the people’s symphaty now. And as their movement goes stronger and stronger, Suharto will have no choice.”

Another key factor is the military, he said, adding that if the military takes the side of the people and the students, Suharto’s fall is only a matter of days or weeks.