20 Years Later, Indonesia Reflects on Its Democratic Experiment

 

Indonesia marks its 20th anniversary as a democracy this month. The country won its independence from the Netherlands in 1945. But, for 30 years, the military ruler Suharto led the country. He resigned in 1998 as a result of the Indonesian Reformasi, or reformation.

Now, 20 years later, many Indonesians are examining the promises kept and broken during its democratic experiment.

The democratic experiment

President Suharto, a former army general, seized power in 1965 after his military killed as many as one million suspected communists, opposition¹ supporters and minorities.

Suharto helped make the Indonesian government more modern. But he also restricted civil liberties. And he used his power to increase his family wealth by tens of billions of dollars.

Suharto resigned on May 21, 1998. The country was in economic and political crisis. There were years of huge protests and riots. Ethnic² Chinese became victims of targeted killings³ and other attacks. Western countries also pressured Suharto to resign in answer to human rights abuses in East Timor.

After his resignation, freedom of speech laws were established in Indonesia. This permitted the growth of an independent media. Conservative Islamists also gained greater power. They formed the Islamic Defenders⁴ Front in 1998 and the Indonesian Mujahideen Council in 2000. It supports rule by Islamic law, called sharia.

Freedom of expression

In May of 1998, Indonesian novelist and filmmaker Richard Oh, lived in Pluit, an ethnic-Chinese neighborhood of North Jakarta.

He told VOA he remembers seeing trucks of young men destroying homes, and attacking and raping⁵ ethnic Chinese women in apartments near his home.

Oh later wrote two books based on those events, The Pathfinders of Love and The Heart of the Night.

Oh said the subject of free speech is complex. He said it is not as if there was no freedom of expression under Suharto and total freedom in the democratic era. During Suharto’s rule, Oh said, there was some non-political artistic⁶ expression. Now, in his words, “there is the Information and Electronic Transaction Law that could be invoked⁸ by anyone. Freedom of expression has also been usurped¹⁰ by intolerance… and, more importantly, disregard for social unity¹¹.”

Growing intolerance

Andreas Harsono sees the situation a little differently. While media freedom is not perfect, he says, it has surely improved since the Reformasi.

Harsono is a Human Rights Watch researcher, former reporter, and creator of Indonesia’s Alliance of Independent Journalists.

He also said that civil society is getting stronger.

Harsono argues that the biggest issue facing Indonesian democracy is the relationship between Islam and the state of Indonesia. He described it as “problematic.”

He added that the Reformasi has not succeeded in ending discriminatory rules and government departments, such as the Ministry¹² of Religious Affairs.

Also critics argue that Indonesia has not dealt with many human rights abuses of its recent past. Public discussion of the mass killings of the mid-60s is rare. And, little action has been taken about calls for investigations¹³ of that violence.

Indonesian human rights activist¹⁴ Maria Sumarish says even current President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, the first non-military president in Indonesia, has not been successful on human rights.

“President Jokowi committed to resolve cases of gross human rights violations¹⁵ and to end impunity¹⁶ for them,” she said, adding that there have never been any steps to do this. She also expressed her concern over the appointment of several Suharto allies to important positions in government.

Still fighting corruption¹⁷

Indonesia may have problems to face 20 years after the Reformasi. However, its “experiment” produced what remains¹⁸ the world’s third-largest democracy today.

The country has seen some success in fighting corruption. Just in April, the former speaker of the Indonesian legislature, Setya Novanto, was sentenced to 15 years in jail for stealing money.

Novanto is one of the most powerful Indonesian politicians ever to be found guilty for corruption.

Adnan Topan Husodo of Indonesia Corruption Watch called the decision, “a new milestone¹⁹ for anti-corruption efforts in Indonesia.”

I’m Phil Dierking.

Words in This Story

commit - v. to make (someone or something) obligated to do something?

communist - n. a person who believes in communism or is a member of a political party that supports communism?

disregard - v. to ignore (something) or treat (something) as unimportant?

impunity - n. freedom from punishment, harm, or loss?

intolerant - adj. not willing to allow or accept something?

invoke⁷ - v. to mention (someone or something) in an attempt to make people feel a certain way or have a certain idea in their mind?

milestone - n. an important point in the progress or development of something?

society - n. people in general thought of as living together in organized communities with shared laws, traditions, and values?

usurp⁹ - v. to take and keep (something, such as power) in a forceful or violent way and especially without the right to do so

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

3 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

4 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 raping   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的现在分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• In response, Charles VI sent a punitive expedition to Brittany, raping and killing the populace. 作为报复，查理六世派军讨伐布列塔尼，奸淫杀戮平民。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The conquerors marched on, burning, killing, raping and plundering as they went. 征服者所到之处烧杀奸掠，无所不做。 来自互联网

6 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

7 invoke   

v.求助于(神、法律)；恳求，乞求

参考例句：

• Let us invoke the blessings of peace.让我们祈求和平之福。
• I hope I'll never have to invoke this clause and lodge a claim with you.我希望我永远不会使用这个条款向你们索赔。

8 invoked   

v.援引( invoke的过去式和过去分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求

参考例句：

• It is unlikely that libel laws will be invoked. 不大可能诉诸诽谤法。
• She had invoked the law in her own defence. 她援引法律为自己辩护。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 usurp   

vt.篡夺，霸占；vi.篡位

参考例句：

• Their position enabled them to usurp power.他们所处的地位使其得以篡权。
• You must not allow it to usurp a disproportionate share of your interest.你不应让它过多地占据你的兴趣。

10 usurped   

篡夺，霸占( usurp的过去式和过去分词 )； 盗用； 篡夺，篡权

参考例句：

• That magazine usurped copyrighted material. 那杂志盗用了版权为他人所有的素材。
• The expression'social engineering'has been usurped by the Utopianist without a shadow of light. “社会工程”这个词已被乌托邦主义者毫无理由地盗用了。

11 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

12 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

13 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

14 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

15 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

16 impunity   

n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除

参考例句：

• You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
• The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。

17 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

18 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

19 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。