[ETAN-key] Indonesia – The Worst Example For Revolutions In Arab World

[ETAN]

<http://www.zcommunications.org/indonesia-the-worst-example-for-revolutions-in-arab-world-by-andre-vltchek>http://www.zcommunications.org/indonesia-the-worst-example-for-revolutions-in-arab-world-by-andre-vltchek 


Indonesia – The Worst Example For Revolutions In Arab World

Andre Vitchek

Tuesday, 01 March 2011 10:35

As several revolts shook recently big part of 
Arab world, as Hosni Mubarak stepped down and the 
leaders of Bahrain and Libya could not think 
about anything better than to order bloody crack 
down against their own people, the world (read 
Western governments, media and academia) were 
watching with increasing doze of discomfort.

Protests seem to be engulfing almost all 
countries in the region from Morocco and Tunis to 
Jordan, Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

Staunch ally of the West – Saudis – feel suddenly 
‘vulnerable’, even ‘encircled’. No wonder – 
millions of the poor from all over the region are 
now marching and fighting for social justice or 
for justice in general. And there is hardly a 
place in the world with more striking 
inequalities than in this kingdom based on Wahabi 
conservative Islam, historically close ally of 
British imperialism. As is well known, Saudi 
Arabia is bathing in oil – that dark liquid which 
is both blessing and curse - enriching elites 
while helping to maintain apartheid between the 
natives and exploited migrant workers.

For decades, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Egypt 
(or more precisely their rulers and ‘elites’) – 
all of them served Western interests with zeal 
and efficiency. Now they are expecting helping 
hand, support in this complex and ‘dangerous times’.

While the White House was sending conflicting 
reports to its allies, well-disciplined mass 
media and academia rose immediately to the 
challenge and invented ‘the best role model for the Arab world’ – Indonesia.

After all, Indonesia is home to more Muslims than 
any other nation on earth. It is rich in natural 
resources and after 1998 it holds multi-party 
elections. Its economy is growing at more than 6% 
a year and there seem to be no popular uprisings 
or calls for revolution. Both President Obama and 
Foreign Secretary Clinton sang praises to 
Indonesian model during their visits to Jakarta.

Indonesia is a staunch ally of the West: ‘a 
bumper zone against rising China’, good 
god-fearing country where the Communist Party and 
atheism are banned and business and the Almighty 
appear to be working in unison for the benefit of 
the few. It performed extremely effective surgery 
on behalf of the West in 1965/66 – murdering 
millions of Communists, progressive leaders, 
teachers, intellectuals and members of Chinese 
minority. It can be, therefore, trusted.

Writing for CNN, Ann Marie Murphy - an associate 
professor at the John C. Whitehead School of 
Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall 
University, and an associate fellow at the Asia Society - argued:

  “Since Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak 
resigned in the face of widespread 
demonstrations, attention has shifted to what 
comes next. Fears have been raised that Egypt's 
transition may follow the Iranian path, where the 
Shah's overthrow led to a repressive Islamic 
regime that turned away from the West and became 
a source of regional instability. Indonesia 
provides a better analogy for Egypt than Iran. 
Over the past decade Indonesia, home of the 
world's largest community of Muslims, has made a 
successful transition to democracy that clearly 
refutes the proposition that Islam and democracy are incompatible
”

Did it really? Did it made a successful 
transition to democracy and did it ‘clearly’ 
refute the proposition? For approximately 2 
decades I traveled this enormous archipelago from 
Aceh to Ambon and from West Timor to Batam. 
Anyone who speaks the language and is ready to 
listen to people would know that one of the main 
complains of Indonesians is that they are 
‘unrepresented’. There is no political force in 
the country that would call for social justice. 
All major political parties are pursuing their 
own political and economic interests.

People are confused, especially those living in 
the villages (great majority of the population). 
I heard many times that they don’t decide whom to 
vote for: village chiefs often sell votes of 
entire villages to the highest bidders. Women 
vote for the candidates selected by their 
husbands. On the village – kampung – level, 
Indonesian democracy doesn’t seem so glorious. At 
the closer examination – it actually does not seem to exist at all.



About democracy and Islam – let’s first ask 
‘which Islam’? Former President Abdurrahman Wahid 
was a Socialist at heart (I have many of his 
testimonies on the record – some will appear in 
my upcoming book on Indonesia) as well as one of 
the greatest and the most moderate Muslim leaders 
of 20th century. But he was humiliated and 
removed from power in 2001 by quiet coup that 
took form of nontransparent impeachment. Military 
and political/economic elites from Suharto days 
were behind the act. The West sighed relief – the 
last thing it wanted was socially conscious and 
truly patriotic President of Indonesia.


That was the end for ‘progressive Islam’. What 
remained and solidified since is political Islam 
that is of conservative nature. It would be wrong 
to say that all Indonesians are welcoming more 
aggressive and dictatorial form of religion, but 
what is clear is that they are not willing to do 
anything to stop it from taking control of their country.

It is also obvious that present administration of 
President Yudhoyono (popularly known as SBY) is 
unwilling to intervene on behalf of Indonesian secular constitution.

Sharia law is being unconstitutionally 
implemented in several locations, including parts 
of West Java. Annually, dozens of churches go up 
in flames. Controversial ‘anti-pornography law’ 
is now being put into practice (there are wide 
implementations that are not limited to ‘indecent 
exposure’ or pornographic web sites). Non-Muslim 
schools are being attacked periodically while 3 
members of marginal Islamic sect had been 
recently murdered by a mob. Members of radical 
Islamic Defender’s Front are allowed to rampage 
bars and places of warship right in front of the 
police that refuses to take action. Mosques are 
broadcasting sermons – in fact all that is 
happening inside - at the highest imaginable 
volume for 5-7 hours a day – unthinkable almost 
anywhere else in the Muslim world.

In our recent discussion, foremost Indonesian 
expert on Islamic extremism - Huda Ismail - 
declared: “Instead of listening to empty praise 
from abroad, it would be much better for the 
Indonesian government to accept that we have 
serious problems here and finally deal with it!”

Truly good advice for the Indonesian government 
and for those abroad who are trying to suggest 
that Indonesia should be used as an example for the rest of Muslim world!

Ms. Ann Marie Murphy continues with her CNN 
coverage: In Indonesia today a reformist former 
general, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, serves as 
president after twice winning direct presidential elections.

It is hardly a secret that President Yudhoyono 
actually stalled that little that could be called 
reforms. The greatest challenge Indonesia is 
presently facing is ‘corruption’. But apart of 
embezzling funds and ‘stealing millions from the 
poor’, Indonesian corruption is actually much 
more complex and sinister: it is a complex 
monster – a net of interdependency, favors and 
mutual aid that keeps old boys from Suharto era 
in the driving seats. Being part of that club 
himself, Mr. Yudhoyono - as well as those who are 
around him - is actually doing everything not to dismantle the system.

It is also worth analyzing why President 
Yudhoyono is so unpopular in Indonesia and so popular in the West.

Closer examination of his record (which hardly 
appears in Western mainstream media) would offer 
some chilling facts: General Yudhoyono was 
trained twice at Fort Benning in the US – a 
school that produced some of the most vicious 
members of death squads operating in 
right-wing/pro-Western dictatorships in Central 
and South America. After his first ‘schooling’ he 
was sent as platoon commander to occupied East 
Timor – the country, which lost around 30% of its 
entire population under Indonesian occupation. 
Mr. Yudhoyono arrived only one year after 
invasion – arguably during the time when most of 
the killings took place. Mr. Yudhoyono’s wife is 
a daughter of one of the generals responsible for 
some of the most terrible atrocities of 1965/66 
US-backed coup that brought Suharto to power: 
several years ago he was proudly declaring that 
he and his companion killed 3 million people after 1965.

What are other reasons that make Indonesia so 
popular in the West? Corruption – past and 
present – is giving almost unlimited access to 
logging, mining and other extortion of natural 
wealth of the country. Close to nothing goes to 
the pockets of common Indonesian people: foreign 
companies, Indonesian ‘elites’ and the military 
share profits. The military is often protecting 
foreign companies against Indonesian people 
themselves - there are many documented cases in 
Aceh that I recently visited, but also in Papua and elsewhere.

In the meantime, if international standards 
apply, more than half of Indonesians live in dire 
poverty. Infrastructure of the country is 
collapsing and so is its environment. Natural 
disasters, often results of unbridled 
deforestation and mining activities take 
thousands of human lives, annually. Quality of 
education and medical care are well below 
standards of most of the Asia-Pacific nations.

New catch phrase or journalist cliché is that 
‘Indonesia is the biggest Southeast Asian 
economy’. Of course it is – how could it not? It 
has officially 237 million people (although 
several top world statisticians now believe that 
it is actually inhabited by 300 million and the 
government does not want to admit demographic 
disaster which it did nothing to stop) – other 
large countries in the region - Thailand, 
Philippines, Vietnam and Burma - have populations 
well below 100 million each. On per capita bases 
Indonesia remains one of the poorest countries in 
the Pacific Asia, with some of the most unequal distribution of wealth.

Then what about economic growth?

Indonesia is the forth most populous country on 
earth. But have you ever seen anything with the 
label ‘Made In Indonesia’ abroad, except few 
T-shirts and sneakers? You probably did not as 
the country produces very little for its size. 
The growth comes from uncontrollable (and often 
illegal) plunder of natural resources, and from 
unusually high commodity prices on the world 
markets. Wealth is distributed among very limited 
group of people, in fact scenario that is not 
unlike that of the countries like Sudan. Both 
Khartoum and Jakarta count with fives star hotels 
and luxury shopping centers and with misery that 
can only be found in sub-Saharan Africa.

Is this really an example, an inspiration for new 
aspiring democracies in Arab world? Shouldn’t 
they rather looking at Chile (if they are looking 
for capitalism with human face) or Bolivia (if socialism is the aim)?

When massive protests shook Jakarta in 1998, I 
moved from my comfortable hotel room to the 
‘headquarters’ of the uprising at Trisakti 
University. For days I discussed the situation 
with the student leaders. At that time I lived in 
South America and I was definitely not impressed 
with what I hard from rebellious students in Jakarta.

The goal was to ‘depose Suharto’. “We love and 
respect our parents and our teachers”, explained 
one of the students during those days. “All we 
want is that Suharto steps down. Once we achieve 
our goal, we will return to our class rooms, to our previous lives.”

Eventually Suharto decided to go. Elites and 
military regrouped. Truly reform-minded President 
Wahid was deposed. Religion increased its grip on 
the society. Army continued to moonlight as 
private guard for the multi-nationals. New 
political parties were formed – to solidify 
position of the old elites, not to protect the 
poor. Elections were held regularly – to allow 
mainstream media and academia in the West to 
repeat the same phrase about successful reforms. 
Indonesia continued to be one of the most 
capitalist countries on earth, and one of the most compassionless, too.

Rebellious leaders in Arab world should not 
listen to anybody from outside and do what they 
believe is right. But if there were one advice I 
would like to offer, it would be this: “please do 
study Indonesian example. Think about what 
happened in this country and make sure that you 
don’t repeat the same mistakes. Here, the great 
chance for changes was kidnapped, destroyed, 
perverted, missed. Try to do better than this. 
Indonesia’s experience is offering great wisdom: 
to get rid of one leader is not going to save the country.

What has to go is the system itself. Those 
responsible for atrocities, even for treason (for 
siding with foreign political and business 
interests), should be brought to justice as it 
happened in Argentina, Chile, South Africa and 
elsewhere (mainly in Latin America).

In Indonesia, nobody was tried for plunder of 
natural resources and the land, for 2-3 million 
people that were massacred in 1965/66, for 
genocide in East Timor and for ongoing massacre 
in Papua. How could they be, these people are 
still busy governing the country while receiving praises from abroad.

Don’t make the same mistake!


Andre Vltchek ( http://andrevltchek.weebly.com/ ) 
– novelist, filmmaker, investigative journalist, 
author of numerous books and documentary films. 
His latest non-fiction book – Oceania – deals 
with western neo-colonialism in Polynesia, 
Micronesia and Melanesia 
(<http://www.amazon.com/Oceania-Andr%C3%A9-Vltchek/dp/1409298035>http://www.amazon.com/Oceania-André-Vltchek/dp/1409298035). 
His latest novel about war correspondents and 
Latin American revolution is available in French: 
<http://www.amazon.fr/Point-non-retour-Andr%C3%A9-Vltchek/dp/2916209816/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1297758349&sr=8-2>http://www.amazon.fr/Point-non-retour-André-Vltchek/dp/2916209816/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1297758349&sr=8-2


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