SUMMARY
Indonesia gained independence from The Netherlands in 1949. Dutch rule was succeeded by a political consensus of a unitary state. However, the nascent Indonesian government, headed by President Sukarno immediately faced problem regarding the orientation and characteristics of the new state. The president declared Pancasila; five pillars of the Indonesian state (God, humanitarianism, national unity, democracy, and social justice). Despite the outlined governance blueprint presented by Sukarno, the issue of secularism rose among the decision makers at the time. However, the mistake made by Sukarno which would deprive him of his presidency was the choice to ally himself with the communist party. While Sukarno was neglecting the military, Major General Haji Mohammed Bemusu Thojib Suharto seized control of the army, an act that preceded his ascendance to power as he was inaugurated as the country’s second president in 1966 and started an era of military rule, massive state corruption and centralisation.
The end of Sukarno was equivalent to the end of left-wing affiliations among state officials. As military rule was installed, any officers with left-wing sympathies were ostracised from office. Moreover, the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) was banned in an attempt to consolidate power. Suharto started his 31 years era with the declaration of the “New Order.” The New Order regime based its values on unity, thus not accepting decentralisation or secessionist demands from rebellious regions. Despite Sukarno’s ousting, the Pancasila ideal was still present within Indonesian politics and nationalism had its foundation in the unity of the country. The centralisation subsequently led to the strengthening of the presidency with the People’s Consultative Assembly as the governing institution. As strong regionalism was undesired, the vertical power structure made the military permeate every governmental aspect of Indonesia. One military personnel was represented in every Indonesian settlement and governmental auspice became ubiquitous throughout Indonesia as nearly every aspect of the citizens’ lives became interlinked with the military. Recommendations from government officials became compulsory in order to get a job or enroll at any education institution. In addition, oppositional tendencies were prevented by the intelligence service (Bakin) and the secret police (kopkamtib). This was a part of the “Floating mass” doctrine which aimed at preventing political activity. Due to military rule, the boundary between military and civil tasks was erased. However, Suharto chose to cooperate with the Golkar party (Golangan Karya), an army-sponsored organisation which was to become the president’s personal constituency.
During Suharto’s presidency, a feint rudimentary democracy was present. Given the restriction on political parties, the first election initiated by the regime, held in 1971, was not the beginning of a democratisation process. Three years later, all the legitimate political parties were amalgamated into two parties; PDI (Party of Indonesia) and PPP (Develop Unitary Party), a party with an Islamic orientation. However, their Islamic agenda was erased from the party’s ideological manifesto.
Regardless of the strong military rule, Suharto was not oblivious to the rise of communism. The increasing communist affiliation originated from the increasing income gap and in order to lubricate the minds of his critics, Suharto launched the development program which aimed at eradicating the poverty of the population. However, the wellbeing of the population and the consolidation of power were not the sole reasons for the development program. A paramount goal was to transform Indonesia into a modern state, resembling the Western world.
Suharto was seeking Islamic alliances; however, Islamist movements never gained any direct support for their causes and became mere puppets of Suharto’s attempt to accumulate support. Despite new alliances, Suharto was forced to resign from office after a virtually 32 year tenure. The ostensibly stable regime did not have the ability to neither suppress nor shield itself from the ethnic tensions, and after the end of Suharto, the lid on nationalist sentiments was lifted.
The New Order regime possessed coercive and submissive means which were frequently used against the uprising regions and Islamic movements in order to deny them political influence. When the regions of Papua, East Timor and Aceh became incorporated into Indonesia, neither of them accepted the strong centralisation. Thus, agitation emerged in the regions in order to secure their regional characteristics. However, only one rather rebellious group rose during the Suharto era; the Free Aceh movement (GAM), which in accordance with the creed of stability and order required a strong deployment of troops in the region. The government has struggled with Aceh, Papua and East Timor which has led to coercive measures at the expense of thousands of lives.
The 1990’s became a decade of increased outspoken and violent ethnic uprisings. The government launched campaigns in order to forcefully subdue the population. The deterrence was fading and as the ethnic incompatibilities had not been addressed, in addition to the financial turmoil in the 1990’s and Suharto’s declining health, opposition was provoked. Despite the smouldering ethnic consciousness, Suharto once again participated in the presidential election in 1998. However, the population was growing tired of the nepotism and mismanagement of the state. As a consequence, rampant student riots broke out and following the public outrage Suharto resigned on 21 May 1998. Suharto was succeeded by Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie who launched a new personal campaign, aiming at promoting himself as a competent leader with reform visions. Habibie promulgated the return of political parties and a general value of democratisation geared Indonesia towards a more liberal and open society. However, the new openness did not curtail the ethnic tension despite governmental efforts to reform Indonesian political structure and partly dismantle the strong centralisation. The regions of Aceh, East Timor and Papua became the arenas of the most ardent riots. Habibie had indeed opened up the society but had not directly addressed the ethnic issues. As a result, Habibie resigned after only one year in office.
Overall, the post-Suharto Indonesia has embraced the democracy path and decentralisation has removed a part of the Suharto legacy. In 2004, the first direct presidential election was held and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono emerged as victorious.
The Government of Indonesia has been involved in the extrastate, interstate, intrastate and one-sided categories of UCDP organized violence.
