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Last month, Indonesia's people's consultative assembly elected a Muslim
political leader to be the country's next president. Abdurrahman Wahid
replaced B.J. Habibie, who was appointed last year when President Suharto
resigned after more than 30 years as Indonesia's ruler.
The national assembly chose Wahid to be president six months after
the country's first freely contested and fair election in 54 years of
independence. The winner in the popular election was Megawati Sukarnoputri,
daughter of Indonesia's first president, Sukarno. When the assembly
rejected Megawati, heavy rioting began in the capital, Jakarta and on
the island of Bali, a Megawati stronghold. Then in a dramatic surprise,
the new president named Megawati as his vice president. His choice was
ratified by the parliament, this time setting off happy gatherings.
Wahid is 59 and frail. He's had two strokes and is almost blind. If
he cannot fulfill his five-year term, Megawati would become president.
The new leaders take over a country torn by political and economic
troubles. Indonesia's troops came home in humiliation from the 24-year
occupation of East Timor and some generals could face war crimes indictments
after violence that racked the island after the vote for independence.
Hundreds of East Timorese were killed, tens of thousands more were scattered
and left homeless and the territory is a charred ruin. The United States
suspended aid and broke military ties with Indonesia in September. United
Nations peacekeepers are now in place to maintain order on East Timor,
and the island is now formally under U.N. Control.
But even as Indonesia was dealing with the loss of East Timor, a former
Portuguese colony, it faced insurrection in other provinces, ethnically
distinct Aceh and Irian Jaya. This week, president Wahid raised the
possibility of a Timor-style referendum on the future of Aceh, one of
the richest parts of Indonesia. And that provoked pro- independence
demonstrations and outbreaks of violence.
Two weeks ago, Wahid unveiled what he called a national unity cabinet.
The 35-member cabinet includes Indonesia's first civilian defense minister
since the 1950s. Indonesia's former defense minister, General Wiranto,
a key figure of the old regime, was given a lesser post in the new administration.
Despite Wahid's efforts at compromise and inclusion, the announcement
of the coalition government did not lift Indonesian financial markets.
The nation of 210 million has seen millions rise from poverty to middle
class only to fall back into poverty during the financial crisis of
1997. The new government faces demands from international organizations
and lenders to reform its banks and other financial institutions, many
of them accused of crony capitalism during the Suharto era. Rebuilding
the economy and repatriating refugees back to East Timor were the two
main issues Wahid and President Clinton discussed in their hour conversation
at the White House earlier today.
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