Thomas,
Suharto stepping down would be a trifle in terms of real reform but could have the effect of slipping the wind from the sails of the increasingly vocal (and sadly violent) opposition. However don't get too impressed by Suharto's rhetoric and petulence. It seems he has done this before and is likely as insincere this time as he has been in the past. Note the following from the Dow Jones Newswire.
Best,
Stitch
The Following Reprinted Here for Personal Use Only
Indonesian Official Says Suharto Has No Plans To Quit
Dow Jones News
JAKARTA (AP)--President Suharto has no plans to step down despite
newspaper reports that he was willing to quit if Indonesian no longer trust him, an Indonesian official said Thursday.
In Cairo, a high-ranking Indonesian official said Suharto had no plans to quit and said his comments were an oblique way of expressing anger about the situation in his country.
"On various occasions, he has always said that if constitutionally people do not want him, then no problem," said the official, who requested anonymity.
Suharto, who has led Indonesia for more than three decades with little
tolerance for dissent, has made similar comments about his leadership in the past.
Before a loyalist assembly awarded him a seventh five-year term earlier this year, Suharto ordered the ruling Golkar party to ensure that Indonesians wanted him to remain in office. Critics said the move was rhetoric.
Suharto cut the trip short to return to Jakarta as thousands of looters burned shops and houses in a third day of rioting in the capital.
"There is no problem if the people don't trust me anymore. I won't be an obstacle, particularly if some say I'm paralyzing the life of this nation," the newspaper Republika quoted the president as saying.
Republika said that Suharto, whose country is in the midst of economic and political turmoil, maintained that any political reform must be done in line with the national constitution.
In Jakarta, Information Minister Alwi Dahlan said Parliament could call an emergency meeting to discuss Suharto's statement or if the president in power violates the constitution. He did not comment further. |
