Soekarno, The Last Day

Sukarno’s death (Indonesia, 1970)

On June 21, shortly after his 69th birthday, former president Sukarno died, marking the end of an era for Indonesia. Sukarno had served his people, who thought of him as ‘Bapak Negara’ (father of the country) or as ‘Bung Karno’ (Brother Karno), for 20 years as their president and nearly 40 years as a leader of the Indonesian nationalists. He had ushered in a new age for Indonesia by welding together the scattered and divided islands which had been the Netherlands East Indies.

During World War II, Sukarno collaborated with the Japanese, who had promised to allow Indonesia to become independent. When the Dutch returned in 1945, a bitter guerrilla war ensued which finally brought the issue of Indonesia’s independence to the attention of the United Nations. After a resolution by the Security Council, the Dutch freed Sukarno, whom they had imprisoned, and then turned over the administration of Indonesia to Sukarno’s government in 1949.

Sukarno soon developed a political philosophy of ‘guided democracy’ by which more and more power was brought into his own hands, a development which occasioned considerable tension and sporadic organized resistance in Sumatra and some of the more remote islands in eastern Indonesia. Sukarno also brought Indonesia into the middle of the ‘third world’ bloc, maintaining what he considered to be a neutralist stance. During his presidency, Sukarno plunged his nation into debt. By borrowing more than US$2 billion in various forms of military and economic assistance and by embarking upon ill-conceived, poorly planned economic and cultural programs, Sukarno turned a potentially rich country into a stagnating, inflation-ridden nation. He lost the support of most of his colleagues through his poor handling of the nation’s resources, his personal extravagances, and his gradual assumption of dictatorial powers. His flirtations with various Communist groups alienated increasing numbers of Muslims and ultimately brought about his downfall. His years of house arrest, which followed the abortive Communist coup of 1965, were marked by rapid deterioration in his health and morale.

Politics.

Indonesia this year exhibited a restive moodiness occasioned largely by the slow pace of economic and political recovery from the Sukarno era as well as by increasing doubts about the effectiveness of the elections—last held in 1955—scheduled for July 1971.

The demand of the ruling military group that one-fifth of the members of provincial district assemblies, approximately one-fourth of the members of Parliament, and one-third of the members of the People’s Congress be appointed by President Suharto’s military establishment had been agreed to in late 1969. Although this did not automatically promise the military a majority in the next Parliament, the inability of the various political parties to discover areas of mutual interest blocked efforts to cement an opposition to the influence of the military. Most observers continued to express dissatisfaction with both the structure and the prevailing philosophy of the political system, and criticism about the election law which had been finally passed by Parliament at the end of 1969 after three years of preparation was widespread. The election law provided that anyone who had been a member of any outlawed organization such as the Communist Party would not be eligible to vote in the elections and that no member of the army would be able to vote or to be elected. However, the 360 members of Parliament not appointed by the military were to be elected on the basis of party preference rather than individually. The voter in 1971 will thus select party symbols rather than individual names. Many party members expressed discontent with the provisions, since they wanted to rid their parties of old, ineffective leaders. Under the provisions of the new election law, they will be unable to do this.

Further complicating the domestic scene was the announcement that the government would release ‘in the near future’ about 26,000 of the close to 100,000 political prisoners in its custody since the abortive coup late in 1965. The government also announced that about 10,000 former Communist Party members not directly involved in the 1965 coup would be settled on the island of Buru. The remaining prisoners were eventually to be brought to trial for their participation in the attempted coup. Many observers, however, feared that when the prisoners returned to their communities, the memory of the tragic slaughter which followed the revelation of the Communist plot might stir people to further violence.

In January the first of several series of student demonstrations occurred, ostensibly sparked by an increase in the prices of gasoline and kerosene. Other price increases and reports of alleged duplicity and corruption within the government continued to arouse protests during the year. During a student demonstration in August, six students and one newsman were arrested. However, Suharto announced that he would meet once a week with persons who had information about corruption and would investigate the alleged corruption of one of his aides, Major General Surjo.

Foreign relations.

Indonesia’s creditors continued to meet in an effort to ease the load of the ‘Sukarno’ debt. The final agreement was reached in April after nearly four years of negotiation and provided for a repayment of the international debt within a period of 30 years, a much longer period for repayment than has been customary in previous cases of financial assistance to developing nations. The agreement stipulated that the principal, US$1.7 billion, be repaid in 30 equal annual installments and the interest, US$445 million, be paid in 15 equal installments after 1985. Under the agreement, the creditor nations would survey the state of Indonesia’s economy by 1980 to determine whether payments should be accelerated or slowed down. The Soviet bloc, which holds 60 percent of the Sukarno debt, was treated in a separate agreement which provided for essentially the same process of repayment.

Also in April the Australian government announced a grant of about US$60.5 million to Indonesia over the next three years. Australian external affairs minister William McMahon expressed confidence in the stability and health of the Indonesian economy.

President Suharto left the country this year for an extensive tour abroad, during which he personally turned his attention to restoring the presence of Indonesia around the world and to seeking further economic aid.

Malaysia.

In March a new treaty of friendship was signed between Malaysia and Indonesia, and another treaty was signed which established the boundary through the Strait of Malacca. Apparently the government of Indonesia abandoned Sukarno’s 12-mile-limit demand and adopted the Malaysian concept of a shoreline boundary, thus effectively removing the friction between the two countries. Still unresolved was the question of the anti-Malaysian guerrilla activity in Sarawak which had begun during Sukarno’s administration. Both Malaysia and Indonesia cooperated in using their armed forces to fight guerrillas, which included not only some Indonesian Communists but also pro-Peking Chinese from Sarawak.

United States.

In May, President Suharto arrived in the United States and was welcomed to the White House by President Richard M. Nixon. Suharto was praised by Nixon for his efforts to ease the critical situation in Southeast Asia by convening a meeting in Djakarta in May of 11 non-Communist Asian nations to study the war in Indochina and the possible threats to regional security. American officials expressed the hope that Indonesia would respond favorably to the U.S. action in Cambodia and would maintain its own diplomatic and political leadership in Southeast Asia.

The U.S. government announced that in the 1970-1971 fiscal year an increase of more than US$30 million over the aid given in 1969-1970 would be granted to Indonesia. During his U.S. visit, Suharto strongly urged the attention of American capital investors to the opportunities in Indonesia. In 1969, U.S. exports to Indonesia totaled $194 million and imports from Indonesia reached $200 million.

Area and population (including West Irian).

Area, 735,268 sq. mi. Pop. (est. 1970), 119,430,000. Cap., Djakarta, 4.5 million.

Government.

Republic. Pres., prime min., and min. of def., Gen. Suharto; min. of for. aff., Adam Malik.

Finance.

Monetary unit, rupiah; 1 rupiah = US$0.0028.

Trade (1968).

Exports, US$868 million; imports, US$830 million. Major exports: petroleum and petroleum products, tin, copra, coffee. Major imports: textiles, machinery, transportation equipment, rice.

Education (est. 1970).

Primary and secondary schools, 66,969; enrollment, 16,984,594. Higher education enrollment, 604,694.

Armed forces (1969).

Army, 275,000; navy, 40,000; air force, 20,000.