Indonesia: Suharto May Win This Battle, But Not The War

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After 31 years of authoritarian rule, ailing Indonesian President Suharto is looking more desperate with each passing day. In mid-August, the 75-year-old military ruler launched a sweeping crackdown on pro-democracy and labor leaders. He reshuffled the military top brass, sacking a general who failed to anticipate riots in which thousands of middle-class Indonesians took to the streets of Jakarta in late July. Suharto also installed his son-in-law as commander of an army unit expected to restore order and protect the family fortune.

The President's next move, say diplomats in Jakarta, will be against prominent opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri, a former housewife turned figurehead of an embryonic democracy movement. Megawati already has been removed from the chairmanship of her Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) and summoned twice for "questioning" by police. Sources expect the police will find some way of restraining her, whether it's by placing her under house arrest or taking away her legal rights.