Indonesia in 1985: A Year of Trials

Abstract

Introduction The year 1985 will, perhaps fortunately, have no great claim on Indonesian history. It will be remembered as a year of violent incidents jolting Indonesians into soul-searching of a darker sort, and as the year of trials of prominent dissidents. While neither the government nor Indonesia's overall polidcal stability was seriously threatened, the polidcal atmosphere in 1985 remained tense and unsettled. The economic outlook was dampened by recession and sluggishness caused by softening markets and falling prices for most of the mineral and agricultural commodities which form Indonesia's primary source of income. In foreign policy, the country showed some dynamism and a desire for a higher international profile, regaining international prominence through the thirtieth anniversary of the historic Bandung conference. The year was marked by two other anniversaries: the fortieth year since the proclamation of independence, and the twentieth year of the New Order government. In the long celebration, particular emphasis was placed on the role played by President Suharto himself in promoting economic development since his accession to power in 1965. Prominent posters and murals depicting Suharto's personal involvement in various development programmes sought to elevate him further as the Father of Development. A spate of violence brought to an end a decade of calm and tranquillity ? quite unusual in the Indonesian political situation ? with disaffected Muslims being the main source of this activity. Increased dissident activity, both violent and non-violent, was precipitated by a riot in September 1984 in a Jakarta port-side slum, in which Muslim activists, incensed by what they saw as official efforts to undermine their faith, clashed with government troops. This Tanjung Priok affair, the most serious rioting in the Indonesian capital since the Malari riots in 1974 has created a situation* in which a significant section of Muslim opinion has become alienated from the mainstream of the country's political life, particularly in the urban areas. The year 1985 began with the bombing of the ancient Borobudur stupa, causing extensive damage. This was followed by the continuing rash of unexplained fires and explosions which gutted public buildings throughout Indonesia, including Jakarta's oldest department store, Sarinah, the Sultan's palace in Solo, Central Java, the Jakarta headquarters of Radio Republic Indonesia, and its station in South Kalimantan, and several military bases. In Northern Sumatra, a fire swept through 16,000 hectares of rubber and 5,000 hectares of oil palm plantations, areas of smouldering disputes over land rights. While many of these incidents have officially been classified as accidental, their very number has led to speculation that they may be connected. There was also an apparent increase in the circulation of anti-government pamphlets and cassette tapes, as well as bomb threats. One cause of political tension was a series of five controversial bills introduced in the Parliament early in the year requiring all three political parties and all mass organizations to adopt the state ideology, Pancasila, as their sole ideological foundation, to reflect this in their parry symbols, and to open their membership to all Indonesian