Abstract
The groundswell of forces demanding the resignation of President Suharto had proved to be irresistible. The student protest movement, at the forefront of the opposition to the regime, had been joined by many other social sectors, making it impossible for the old despot to maintain his overt grip on power. Throughout 1998 the students’ slogans had been unambiguous: ‘Reduce prices!’, ‘End corruption, collusion and croneyism!’, ‘Overhaul the political system!’, ‘Reform, reform, reform!’ and ‘Get rid of Suharto!’ The movement had spread spontaneously, with its own vital momentum, from city to city; but there appeared to be no centralised leadership. Local organisations (with names like ‘Action of Concern for the People’s Suffering’) were set up; but there seemed to be no detailed scheme that would shape events in the post-Suharto era. Workers, intellectuals, academics and other professionals were joining the students; but, beyond the slogans, there was no detailed agenda for the reshaping of a vast nation.1
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Notes
John Aglionby, ‘Army elite shows its hard fist’, The Guardian, London, 21 May 1998.
Alex Spillius, ‘Indonesia celebrates end of an era as Suharto is forced to quit after 32 years’, The Daily Telegraph, London, 22 May 1998.
Hugh Davies, ‘US fears vacuum at top’, The Daily Telegraph, London, 22 May 1998.
Charles Glass, ‘They no longer rule — but they still run the country’, The Sunday Telegraph, London, 24 May 1998.
In one account (Matt Frei, ‘For “Rudy” it can only get worse, much worse’ The Daily Telegraph, London, 24 May 1998) Suharto, before his resignation, had declared: ‘There is no point in getting rid of me, if all you get instead is Habibie. There will just be calls for his resignation, too.’ Habibie ‘threw a tantrum’.
Richard Lloyd Parry, ‘Indonesia will soon yearn for the good old days of Suharto’, Independent on Sunday, London, 24 May 1998.
Nick Cumming-Bruce, ‘Net closes on Suharto’, The Guardian, London, 30 May 1998.
Alex Spillius, ‘“Friends” turn away to avoid taint of Suharto’, The Sunday Telegraph, London, 31 May 1998.
Richard Lloyd Parry, ‘Islamic militants menace Jakarta’s new freedoms’, The Independent, London, 6 June 1998.
Alex Spillius, ‘EU envoys cut short East Timor visit’, The Daily Telegraph, London, 1 July 1998.
John Aglionby, ‘Poor invaded Suharto ranch in battle against starvation’, The Guardian, London, 20 July 1998.
John Aglionby, ‘Fishermen find bound bodies off Indonesia’, The Guardian, London, 30 July 1998.
Alex Spillius, ‘“Ninja” gangsters spread their reign of terror in Java’, The Daily Telegraph, London, 14 October 1998;
Michael Sheridan, ‘Army’s ninja killers terrorise Indonesia’, The Sunday Times, London, 25 October 1998.
Tarquin Cooper and Alex Spillius, ‘Students killed as chaos rules on Jakarta streets’, The Daily Telegraph, London, 14 November 1998;
John Aglionby, ‘12 die in Jakarta anarchy’, The Guardian, London, 14 November 1998.
John Gittings and John Aglionby, ‘Habibie bolsters the army’, The Guardian, London, 16 November 1998.
John Aglionby, ‘Jakarta mobs hack seven to death’, The Guardian, London, 23 November 1998.
John Aglionby, ‘City exodus spills poverty into Javan villages’, The Guardian, London, 4 December 1998.
Andrew Gilligan, ‘Indonesians admit torture in TV “sting”’, The Sunday Telegraph, London, 17 January 1999.
John Aglionby, ‘Timor “can have freedom”’, The Guardian, London, 28 January 1999;
Alex Spillius, ‘East Timor promised its freedom’, The Daily Telegraph, London, 28 January 1999.
John Aglionby, ‘Army speaks to Timor with bullets’, The Guardian, London, 30 January 1999;
Diarmid O’Sullivan, ‘Indonesia talks of peace, but unleashes its thugs on Timor’, Independent on Sunday, London, 7 February 1999.
Arnold Kemp, ‘General admits arming Timor death squads’, The Observer, London, 7 February 1999.
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© 2000 Geoff Simons
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Simons, G. (2000). The Post-Suharto Era. In: Indonesia: The Long Oppression. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780333982846_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780333982846_6
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