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Indonesian President Asks for Patience in Transition to Democratic Rule
June 2000
2000 Gatekeeper Editor Michael Winter
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JAKARTA, Indonesia - Saying he needed "more time" to solve Indonesia's political, military and economic problems, beleaguered President Abdurrahman Wahid told U.S. newspaper editors the world should be more patient in judging his performance as leader of the world's fourth largest nation.
Wahid, elected to office in October 1999, spoke to a group of "gatekeeper" editors visiting Indonesia in June in a weeklong fact finding trip sponsored by the IRP Fellowships in International Journalism.
The editors interviewed a wide range of Indonesian public officials and private citizens, as well as U.S.and other foreign residents of this sprawling archipelago nation.
A country of 220 million people, Indonesia is in the midst of a sensitive transition to democracy after the forced resignation of former President Suharto, whose authoritarian rule lasted more than 30 years. Ethnic strife, lawlessness and a troubled economy have plagued new President Wahid in his first year in office.
"It's not easy to change the laws," Wahid said, referring to efforts to end corruption and economic inefficiency. Opposition political groups have vowed to help the president to lead Indonesia towards economic stability, but many politicians are calling for widespread changes in Wahid's cabinet.
The 12 editors, escorted by former Washington Post Jakarta bureau chief Keith Richburg, IRP Fellowships director John Schidlovsky and deputy director Louise Lief, also met with Indonesian Attorney General Marzuki Darusman, a key figure in prosecuting corruption cases against former Suharto cronies and ex-military leaders.
"There is public impatience for action against the corruption of the past," Marzuki told the editors. While speaking to the IRP delegation, Marzuki was called from the meeting to authorize the detention of a leading Indonesian bank official.
Despite many generic social and civil problems caused by years of Suharto's harsh rule, many of the people interviewed put the blame squarely on President Wahid, whose first year in office has been marked by his erratic statements, lack of decisiveness and inarticulateness. Jusuf Wanandi, head of the Indonesian branch of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, called the president "our Dan Quayle."
The editors also met with U.S. ambassador Robert Gelbard and with a number of U.S. business representatives in Indonesia. The country has not recovered from the Asian financial crisis of a few years ago, and many foreign investors have stayed away because of the uncertain political climate. Indonesian critics have called on President Wahid to appoint a more financially-astute team of advisors, noting that Wahid has little grasp of complex economic issues.
Among others interviewed in the editors' weeklong program were defense minister Juwono Sudarsono; opposition leader Amien Rais; editors and publishers of Jakarta's leading newspapers and newsmagazines; representatives of citizens groups and NGOs, as well as students and workers interviewed in visits to factories and public locations in Jakarta and elsewhere.
The editors in the IRP delegation also interviewed managers and workers at one of Nike's footwear factories in Indonesia. The U.S. manufacturer and other apparel firms have been criticized by some activists for the conditions at some of their factories. However, some editors found conditions at the plant visited to be better than portrayed by the critics. (For a look at some of the stories about Indonesia written by the editors, see elsewhere on this page.)
This year's Indonesia trip was the first of what are planned annual visits organized by the IRP Fellowships program for gatekeeper editors to an important country in the news. The purpose of the trips is to better acquaint gatekeeper editors with conditions in a specific country in order to improve news organizations' coverage of not only the nation being visited but also of key global issues. Next year's country will be announced early in 2001 and applications will be made available on the program website.
Editors visiting Indonesia this year were:
Mark Abel, foreign editor, San Francisco Chronicle
Mathis Chazanov, foreign editor, Orange County Register
Frank M. Denton, editor, Wisconsin State Journal
Tiffany Harness, assistant international editor, Dallas Morning News
Holger Jensen, international editor, Rocky Mountain News
Martha Malan, senior editor, St. Paul Pioneer Press
David Seago, editorial page editor, Tacoma News Tribune
James Simon, assistant metro editor, Seattle Times
Steven Smith, wire editor, Myrtle Beach Sun News
Thomas Uhler, assistant national/foreign editor, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Angela Wang, Asia desk editor, The Christian Science Monitor
Michael Winter, assistant foreign editor, San Jose Mercury News.
Copyright © 2007 International Reporting Project. All Rights Reserved.