Indonesian Politics in Crisis
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Indonesian Politics in Crisis NORDIC INSTITUTE OF ASIAN STUDIES Recent and forthcoming studies of contemporary Asia Børge Bakken (ed.): Migration in China Sven Cederroth: Basket Case or Poverty Alleviation? Bangladesh Approaches the Twenty-First Century Dang Phong and Melanie Beresford: Authority Relations and Economic Decision-Making in Vietnam Mason C. Hoadley (ed.): Southeast Asian-Centred Economies or Economics? Ruth McVey (ed.): Money and Power in Provincial Thailand Cecilia Milwertz: Beijing Women Organizing for Change Elisabeth Özdalga: The Veiling Issue, Official Secularism and Popular Islam in Modern Turkey Erik Paul: Australia in Southeast Asia. Regionalisation and Democracy Ian Reader: A Poisonous Cocktail? Aum Shinrikyo’s Path to Violence Robert Thörlind: Development, Decentralization and Democracy. Exploring Social Capital and Politicization in the Bengal Region INDONESIAN POLITICS IN CRISIS The Long Fall of Suharto 1996–98 Stefan Eklöf NIAS Nordic Institute of Asian Studies Studies in Contemporary Asia series, no. 1 (series editor: Robert Cribb, University of Queensland) First published 1999 by NIAS Publishing Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS) Leifsgade 33, 2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark Tel: (+45) 3254 8844 • Fax: (+45) 3296 2530 E-mail: [email protected] Online: http://nias.ku.dk/books/ Typesetting by the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies Printed and bound in Great Britain by TJ International Limited, Padstow, Cornwall © Stefan Eklöf 1999 British Library Catalogue in Publication Data Eklof, Stefan Indonesian politics in crisis 1.Indonesia - Politics and government - 1966- 2.Indonesia - Economic conditions - 1945- I.Title 959.8’039 ISBN 87–87062–68–2 (hardback) ISBN 87–87062–69–0 (paperback) Contents Preface vii Acknowledgements viii Note on Spelling and Translation ix List of Abbreviations and Acronyms x Map of Indonesia and environs xii 1 Suharto’s New Order 1 2 Dealing with the Opposition 23 3 Riots and Conspiracies 50 4 A Festival of Democracy? 75 5 Economic Crisis 96 6 Towards a Seventh Term for Suharto 122 7 Student Opposition and Regime Repression 154 8 The End of Suharto 175 9 Conclusion 220 Bibliography 238 Index 261 Preface In July 1996 the international news magazine Asiaweek dubbed Indonesia’s President Suharto the most powerful man in Asia.1 After having ruled his country for three decades, the president indeed seemed all-powerful and his authority virtually unchallenge- able. He had six times been unanimously elected president and he presided over a political system which had repeatedly proven its capacity to suppress or sideline any challenges to his leadership. As the ‘Father of Development’ he had led Indonesia in an un- surpassed economic success story that in less than a generation lifted the country from an economic basket case to an aspiring newly industrialising economy. Two years later, in the first months of 1998, it seemed that all the achievements of the previous three decades lay in ruins. Economic crisis had struck much of Asia and Indonesia was the country worst hit. Observers increasingly saw Suharto himself as at the heart of the problem. As the effects of the crisis began to be felt by millions of Indonesians in the forms of unemploy- ment and food shortages, social tensions and unrest escalated and exploded in large-scale violent riots around the country. In the universities, students demonstrated for political reform and burnt effigies of the president. Eventually, on 21 May 1998, President Suharto was forced to resign, putting an end to his reign as Asia’s longest serving leader. This book sets out to explore the two-year political crisis in Indonesia which led to the fall of Suharto. His fall was precip- itated by the economic crisis and the dynamics of international market mechanisms. However, the Asian economic crisis was not the beginning of the story. Economic collapse provided the 1. Asiaweek (5 July 1996). viii INDONESIAN POLITICS IN CRISIS impetus for the political crisis to evolve in full, but Indonesia was already in the midst of a political legitimacy crisis when the economic crisis struck in mid-1997. This political crisis, its background and development, is the theme for this book. Acknowledgements Research for this book was carried out in Indonesia, mainly Jakarta, on four separate occasions, in March 1997, September–October 1997, June 1998 and September–December 1998. In addition, library research was undertaken in Leiden in July 1998 and in Canberra in September 1998. The research trips were made possible through generous grants from the Bokelund Geographic Fund, the Swedish Institute, the Craaford Foundation and the Centre for East and Southeast Asian Studies at Lund University, for all of which I am most indebted. In Indonesia, my greatest gratitude is to all the people who took the time and patience, both in formal interviews and in informal discussions, to explain to me the intricacies and workings of Indonesian politics in the late Suharto era. A list of all these people would be too extensive to include here, but I want to mention my special gratitude to Purwani Diyah Prabandari. I am also grateful to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Jakarta, for helping me in my work and for providing a stimulating intellectual environment during my most recent stay in Jakarta. Special thanks go to Clara Joewono, J. Kristiadi, Tommy Legowo and Marcellianus Djadijono at the CSIS. My single greatest gratitude is to the series editor (and my assistant thesis supervisor) Professor Robert Cribb, who has put NOTE ON SPELLING AND TRANSLATION ix great effort and patience into reading and commenting on the drafts at various stages of the writing process. His well- informed suggestions and analytical sharpness have contributed immensely to the shape of the present text. In addition, I wish to thank my thesis supervisor Professor Eva Österberg for reading and commenting on the text, as well as my wife, Anna-Karin Eklöf, both for her comments and suggestions and for her support throughout the entire research process. Any mistakes or short- comings in the text, however, are entirely my own responsibility. Note on Spelling and Translation In 1947, the official Indonesian spelling conventions were changed so that ‘u’ replaced ‘oe’, and in 1972 further changes were made so that ‘c’ replaced the former ‘tj’, ‘j’ replaced ‘dj’, ‘kh’ replaced ‘ch’ and ‘y’ replaced ‘j’. However, many people continued to use the old, unofficial spelling of their names, causing two (or sometimes more) spellings of their names to be used. For the sake of simplicity, the new official spelling convention has been consequently employed throughout the text, except for the replacement of ‘kh’ in the place of ‘ch’, since this has been the least respected and least widely used of the spelling changes. In cases where the old spelling differs from the new and the old spelling is still in frequent use, the latter will be given in square brackets the first time a name is mentioned in the text. The original spellings have been retained in citations and in the biblio- graphical information. All translations from Indonesian are, unless otherwise stated, by the author. List of Abbreviations and Acronyms ABRI Angkatan Bersenjata Republik Indonesia (Armed Forces of the Republic of Indonesia) ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations CSIS Centre for Strategic and International Studies Forkot Forum Komunikasi Mahasiswa se-Jabotabek (Greater Jakarta Students’ Communication Forum) GDP Gross Domestic Product Golkar Golongan Karya (Functional Groups) Golput Golongan Putih (White Group) ICMI Ikatan Cendekiawan Muslimin se-Indonesia (Associa- tion of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals) ILO International Labour Organisation IMF International Monetary Fund IPTN Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara (Aircraft Industry of the Indonesian Archipelago) Kadin Kamar Dagang dan Industri (Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry) KISDI Komite Indonesia untuk Solidaritas Dunia Islam (Indonesian Committee for Solidarity with the Islamic World) KKN Korupsi, Kolusi dan Nepotisme (Corruption, Collusion and Nepotism) Kodim Komando Distrik Militer (Military District Command) Komnas HAM Komite Nasional Hak Asasi Manusia (National Commission for Human Rights) Kontras Komisi untuk Orang Hilang dan Tindak Kekerasan (Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence) LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS xi Kopassus Komando Pasukan Khusus (Special Forces Command) Kostrad Komando Strategis Angkatan Darat (Army’s Strategic Reserve) LIPI Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia (Indonesian Academy of Sciences) MARI Majelis Rakyat Indonesia (Indonesian People’s Assembly) MPR Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat (People’s Con- sultative Assembly) NGO Non-Government Organisation NU Nahdlatul Ulama (Rise of the Islamic Scholars) PDI Partai Demokrasi Indonesia (Indonesian Demo- cratic Party) PKI Partai Komunis Indonesia (Indonesian Communist Party) PPP Partai Persatuan Pembangunan (United Develop- ment Party) PRD Partai Rakyat Demokrat (Democratic People’s Party) SIAGA Solidaritas Indonesia untuk Amien dan Mega (Indonesian Solidarity for Amien and Mega) SMID Solidaritas Mahasiswa Indonesia untuk Demokrasi (Indonesian Students’ Solidarity for Democracy) TGPF Tim Gabungan Pencari Fakta (Joint Fact-Finding Team) TRuK Tim Relawan untuk Kemanusian (Volunteers for Humanity) TVRI Televisi Republik Indonesia (Television of the Republic of Indonesia) UI Universitas Indonesia (University of Indonesia) THAILAND Y THE A S L I PHILIPPINES A PACIFIC OCEAN A A C BRUNEI E M H N Medan S U SINGAPORE M 0˚ A Pontianak 0˚ T KALIMANTAN R A I SULAWESI Banjar- N masin Palembang D IRIAN Bandar O JAYA Lampung Ujung Pandang N Jakarta E INDIAN OCEAN S I A J A I V A AL B FLORES PAPUA NEW GUINEA JAKARTA Dili Bekasi N OR Tangerang US IM Pasuruan ATE T Bogor NGG Semarang ARA TIMOR SEA Bandung Magelang Madiun Surabaya 200 km 200 km Yogya- Kediri Probolinggo karta Malang AUSTRALIA RBC Surakarta (Solo) Indonesia and environs (© Robert Cribb 1999) CHAPTER 1 Suharto’s New Order With over 200 million people, Indonesia is the world’s fourth most populous country, and one of the most diverse in terms of human and natural geography.