Word: suharto
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JAKARTA, Indonesia: Prices continue to rise. The rupiah continues to fall. Growing student protests and opposition calls for Indonesian president Suharto's ouster are reminding some Indonesia-watchers of the Philippines' "people's power" movement that brought down Ferdinand Marcos in 1986. But the problem with "people power" in Indonesia is that the people don't have much...
...Political power in Indonesia comes directly from the military," says TIME U.N. correspondent William Dowell, who has been following the nation's financial and social crisis. "These protests have been remarkably persistent. But as long as he has the loyalty of the army, Suharto has little to fear...
...Besides, if not Suharto, who? "The successor that Suharto himself has chosen has no credibility with the army," says Dowell. "And he's been very careful to keep the factions in the military squabbling, so that he's the only figure they can all agree on." The president turns 77 next month; Dowell points out he may soon die, or decide to retire. But after 30 years of kinglike reign, Suharto seems sure to depart on his own terms...
Indonesia's police today fired on student protesters, in what might be a fateful decision by President Suharto: "The students are children of the elite," says TIME correspondent William Dowell. "When you start beating them up, torturing them or killing them, you may be striking the tinder that sparks strong reaction to Suharto among powerful families...
...plastic-coated bullets. Police also violently dispersed protesters in other cities. "The student protests are turning out to be much more durable than anyone expected," says Dowell. "There seems to be a web of resistance building up there which hasn't really existed before." Bad news for the aging Suharto, and, in the absence of an obvious successor, it may also bring Indonesia another year of living dangerously...