"The resurgence of military figures on the Indonesian
stage is not the result of a military effort. It is
the result of a civilian failure," says Jeffrey
Winters, an Indonesia watcher at Northwestern
University.
INDONESIA
(Newsweek, May 3, 2004)
The Generals' Election
President Megawati Sukarnoputri's waning popularity is
giving Indonesia's retired generals another shot at
power. Having performed abysmally in a recent
parliamentary vote, Megawati will now face two tough
former military men in the presidential election on
July 5. Of most concern to Indonesia watchers is the
return of retired general Wiranto. Nominated last week
as the candidate for the powerful Golkar Party,
Wiranto will be a formidable opponent, despite the
fact that he's a convicted war criminal.
The biggest threat to Megawati, however, is a former
member of her own cabinet, the enormously popular
ex-general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Recent opinion
polls suggest SBY, as Yudhoyono is fondly known, could
take home 40 percent of the presidential vote, with
Megawati garnering barely half that. As a result, this
presidential race is shaping up to be a showdown
between the generals, with Megawati likely to be on
the sidelines--where, say her critics, she's spent
most of her presidency anyway. "The resurgence of
military figures on the Indonesian stage is not the
result of a military effort. It is the result of a
civilian failure," says Jeffrey Winters, an Indonesia
watcher at Northwestern University. "Indonesians are
shopping for leadership." Something Megawati has had
in short supply.
--Peter Janssen
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