Word: reformist
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...President Abdurrahman Wahid arrived at the presidential palace in central Jakarta last October, his spirits and those of the country were riding high. After 32 years of Suharto's dictatorship and 17 months of interim rule by Suharto's deputy B.J. Habibie, Indonesia was finally getting a reformist President who preached tolerance and democratic openness. But as the blind Muslim cleric and his family mounted the palace steps, a cry rang out. A dukun--a Javanese soothsayer--who habitually accompanies Wahid called the party to a halt. He said he could see the "big man," the spirit of Suharto, standing...
...simply a matter of winning elections. The Islamic republic's reform movement grouped around President Mohammed Khatami has learned that the hard way, as they're battered by conservative opponents whose control of the judiciary and the all-powerful Council of Guardians gives them the power to deny the reformists the fruits of their convincing February election win. Iranians went to the polls Friday in 66 constituencies for runoff votes after they'd failed to produce clear victors in the first round, amid signs of a furious conservative backlash. Since February, the conservative judiciary has closed down the pro-reform...
...Over the past couple of weeks the reformist leadership have realized that they'd become overconfident following the February election, which was provoking the conservatives. Losing the parliament was enough of a disappointment for the conservatives, but having the liberal newspapers carrying promises from reformers to sweep away many of the traditions the conservatives hold dear - such as women legislators' vowing not to wear the chador scarf in parliament - was rubbing salt in the wound...
Iran is a country caught between different worlds: the past and the future, theocracy and democracy, the establishment and reform. Reformist President Mohammed Khatami was reelected to office in February with a majority reform government. Iran's youth have placed their hopes for change in him. Yet the judiciary, controlled by conservative clerics, is doing everything in its power to prevent reform. Last week, 16 pro-democracy newspapers were ordered closed by the high courts of Iran. The charge: The papers are suspected of insulting Islam and "spreading corruption." Acting immediately, the courts did not wait to see their accusations...
...says Stephen Smith, who heads a TVA watchdog group in Knoxville, Tenn. And no one has accused the Vice President of handing out political favors directly--simply of putting in place people who could do it for him. Yet the enrichment of his friends raises questions about the reformist image that Gore is trying to project as he grabs for the political high ground in his nascent campaign for the presidency against George W. Bush...