Ten years on Indonesia activists disillusioned
Khaleej Times Online (Reuters) 20 May 2008  
JAKARTA Indonesian student activists dreamed of far reaching political reforms after helping topple the often brutal rule of President Suhartobut ten years onmany feel their hopes have been dashed.   While Indonesia now has free elections corruption remains deeply embedded and politics still appears to be dominated by a wealthy elite with few of the activists who took to the streets under a banner of reform known as "reformasi"making inroads. "Many of us believe that we should enter politicsbut we want to be independent and we don't want a political career based on patronage" said Hanri Basela former president of the students body at the Jakarta National Teachers Institute who now runs an English school.   Students have often played pivotal roles in Indonesia helping unite the nation against colonial rulers and toppling two leaders -- founding President Sukarno in the 1960s and then Suhartoa former general who ruled for three decades.Protests started by students escalated into a popular revolt that forced Suharto to resign on May 211998.   Now in their 30sformer anti-Suharto activists say they have not been able to break into a political system still dominated by an elitemany of whose members were students who helped oust Sukarno in the 1960s and enjoyed Suharto's patronage. In spite of free elections since Suharto stepped downhis political vehicleGolkarremains the largest bloc with about a quarter of seatsalthough the militaryaccused of human rights abuses during Suharto's ruleno longer has fixed seats in parliament.   Some former activists have joined parties and a few have become members of parliament but most of the student leaders from the heady days of the late 1990s are pursuing other careers. Basel who runs his English school with friends said that the old guard has refused to make way for younger people like him.   "And those old politicians who were denied political rights during Suharto's 32-year rule are also still there" he said.   "New oligarchy"   A recent report by the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies said that Indonesia's political system remained dominated by an elite though it was more broad-based and localised.   Former left-leaning activistS yafiq Alielha said the country had achieved little progress 10 years after Suharto's departure saying it had fallen into another form of oligarchy.   "Yes we are proud we have political freedom. Now we can criticise the government without being arrested" said Alielha33 who now runs a restaurant and an online bookshop.  "But in other areas such as economics we don't see anything that we can be proud of. Corruption is still rampant" he said.   President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyonoa former general came to power in 2004 vowing to tackle corruptionbut critics say the campaign has failed to take on powerful vested interests. Alielha predicted that the 2009 parliamentary elections would see some of his contemporaries joining the political fray.   "But I don't think they will play a significant role because old politicians remain dominant. Rent-seeking is the name of the game" he saidreferring to the money politics that still appears to dominate much of Indonesian public life.   Even within the current administration there is a recognition of the failings of the system ten years after Suharto departed.   Indonesia's defence ministerJuwono Sudarsonowho has served under five presidents in various postssaid that after the army had stepped out of the centre of powercivilians had not been able to step up so far. "What we have now in Indonesia is a collection of parties focusing on prominent people who through their personal skills and connections became prominent politicallybut they do not have the skills to organise on a nationwide basis a full-fledged political system" Sudarsono told foreign correspondents.

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