KUALA LUMPUR (Islam Online) - President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid followed one shocking move after another on Sunday, when he finally removed his coordinating minister for political affairs and security, Wiranto, from his Cabinet. The decision taken overnight after a "friendly" meeting between the two antagonists is deemed to be a landmark event that may influence greatly the future of the country.
Wiranto faces charges over last year's East Timor violence. He rejects the claims by both the Indonesian government's findings and a human rights group assertion that he was responsible for the violence that resulted in the death of civilians and the ransacking of the newly formed country of East Timor.
The president's decision came less than 12 hours after Cabinet Secretary Marsilam Simandjuntak announced on Sunday afternoon that the president would retain Wiranto in the Cabinet. The news has surprised the political world in Asia.
"I made the decision to help the Attorney General's Office investigate allegations on human rights abuses," Abdurrahman said, quoted by the Indonesian press. The president has appointed Minister of Home Affairs Surjadi Soedirdja interim minister. Surjadi, a former Jakarta governor, had been tipped as Wiranto's successor in December, when news first broke about Wiranto's fate in the Cabinet.
Wiranto seemed to be aware of his removal and had been prepared for the news and actually expected to have his fate announced on Saturday or Sunday. Wahid's announcement shows a strengthening of the president's hold on the political reigns of the government, sidelining a potential competitor to the presidency in the person of Wiranto.
No Stranger To Political Storms
Wiranto was named as military chief by Suharto in the last months of his iron-fisted rule. Quickly Wiranto became a hated and feared symbol for the thousands of protestors who swamped the streets to denounce the dying regime.
Using his skills as a political survivor, he outlasted the ageing Suharto and smoothly made the transition to work under his successor B.J. Habibie. He refused a vice president post under Habibie during the presidential elections but is said to have backed the candidacy of Megawati Sukarno Puteri, daughter of the first Indonesian president, Sukarno. He was promised a vice presidency if Megawati had won.
Wiranto contented himself with being elevated to the influential position of coordinating minister for politics and security, and saw a civilian installed as defense minister. The move by the president to include Wiranto in the Cabinet did not please many pro-reformists.
There were fears that pointing the finger at Wiranto and five other generals could ignite a military backlash, amid persistent rumors of a coup plot. Wiranto, backed by the powerful military, lurked in the shadows as a major potential player. The presidency never doubted he had planned an ouster of president Abdurrahman and was promoting Megawati as the successor in the coup plot.
Stripped of his political role, and with a navy man, not an army man, now at the head of the armed forces, it remains unclear whether Wiranto will ever make a political comeback in the future. Wiranto seems badly damaged and his removal maybe the swan song.
Blow to Suharto, Megawati
The removal of Wiranto is also seen as a blow to the power dwellers who are in favor of complete pardon for former president Suharto as well as a diminishing role for Megawati Sukarno Puteri, the vice-president of the Indonesian republic. Megawati had chosed Wiranto as her vice president in the presidential elections in September last year, which she lost to Abdurahman Wahid.
The Democratic Party of Megawati recently confirmed the shy but determined Megawati as their presidential candidate in future elections. Megawati will soon be in the limelight as her role as vice president will surely be dented by the Parliament.
The outspoken speaker of the national parliament Mr Amin Rais, who is himself facing a split within his PAN movement over islamic matters, has been recorded as saying that the Parliament will officially adopt a change in the succession to the presidency. The actual constitution guarantees the vice president to be sworn in as President in case of inability or death of the reigning president. The amendment will force the vice president to be challenged in an election, thus eventually not guaranteeing Megawati the presidential post.
Ensuring A New Era
Observers believe that President Abdurrahman Wahid, while not putting all his cards on the table, is assuring that his immediate contenders are sidelined and that the new era in Indonesian politics takes a firm turn around. The next move by the president is expected to be the handling of the military itself.
The TNI, with its long-standing influence in local politics in Indonesia, is due to lose some feathers and be reduced in the long run to a purely national defense force - a challenge difficult to implement, say some observers. But others believe that the army is prepared to face the challenges and give its full support to the new regime in the wake of a possible break-up of the nation into three or even five nations with their own civilian rule.
The army, under its new commanders, including General Widono, is against any further break-up of the Republic and has sided with the presidency on issues like Aceh and Irian Jaya, the newly called Papua. Indonesia is gearing up for a new-looking navy and air force, which will channel most of the armed forces into it.
Military Reforms
The removal of the military backed governors of the numerous provinces and states of Indonesia will soon follow and they will be replaced by local politicians, who speak local languages and are sons of their islands and people. This, the Indonesian presidency hopes, will reduce the grievous situation of conflicts into one of appeasement.
The military reforms taking place at a slow pace will soon be accelerated if the presidency feels that its efforts are fully supported by the pro-reformists who helped bring down the regime of Suharto. With the reformists cheering the presidency on the removal of Wiranto, they now expect the leader to go ahead with the act of cleaning the army.
Indonesia, a potentially powerful nation with numerous resources, is facing deep poverty and instability. The desperate battle of Abdurrahman Wahid may just be lost if he believes that he can go the long haul while neglecting the growing pro-Islamic sentiments in the country. That is one element the president, who believes in separation of Islam from the state, should handle with the utmost care and attention.
