May 20, 1998
Web posted at: 11:15 p.m. EDT (0315 GMT)
JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) --
Bowing to the will of his
increasingly angry people, a tired
and drawn Indonesian President
Suharto resigned Thursday,
bringing 32 years of authoritarian rule to a sudden and dramatic end.
"I believe that it has become has become extremely difficult for me
to continue the leadership of this country and to cultivate the
development of our country," Suharto said, announcing what he
termed his "withdrawal" from the presidency in an address to the
nation at 9 a.m. Thursday (0200 GMT).
"[I] express my deepest sorrow if there were mistakes, failures or
shortcomings," he said in a halting voice.
Vice President Bucharuddin Jusuf Habibie was immediately sworn
in as president of the fourth most-populous country in the world.
Suharto said Habibie would not be a caretaker but would finish the
rest of his presidential term, which lasts until 2003.
Immediately after Habibie was sworn in, Gen. Wiranto, the defense
minister and head of the military, made a statement in which he
endorsed the leadership transition. He also cautioned Indonesians to
"avoid any unrest."
Protesters camped out in parliament
Suharto made his exit as student
protesters camped out in protest
at Indonesia's parliament
compound, and after the speaker
of the parliament threatened to
remove him from office if he
didn't leave on his own.
The president's political position
unraveled quickly. His
resignation came just a week
after violent riots claimed at least
500 lives in Jakarta, forcing the military to send in tanks and troops
to keep order.
The speaker of the Indonesian parliament, Harmoko, announced
Wednesday that if the president did not step down by Friday, he
would convene the People's Consultative Assembly, which has the
power to name a new president and vice president.
Indonesia has been buffeted by an
economic crisis that eroded support for
Suharto and triggered a series of protests
by university students. Last week, those
protests spread to the urban poor, who
were hard hit by price increases imposed
by the government to deal with the
economic woes.
In his resignation speech, Suharto said he
had "followed with great care" the recent
events in Indonesia, "especially the
aspirations of our people to institute
reforms across the board, across all
aspects of our life and our nation."
In response, Suharto said he had called for
a reshuffling of his Cabinet and the
establishment of a reform committee. But
he said there was a lack of consensus on
how to form the committee, which led him
to a decision to abandon the Cabinet
changes and, instead, leave his post as Indonesian leader, which he
has held since 1965.
Confrontation avoided Wednesday
A possible confrontation
between protesters and the
military that some feared might
turn into a bloodbath
Wednesday was averted when
a protest in Jakarta, expected
to draw up to 1 million people,
was called off. However,
about 10,000 students lined the
rooftop and grounds of the
parliament building, chanting
and waving banners calling for Suharto to go.
Students danced in the main assembly hall, where parliamentary
legislators had routinely rubber-stamped laws for Suharto. Some
broke into offices, folding official papers into paper airplanes and
sailing them off balconies.
Students said prayers over Suharto's effigy before symbolically
hanging the only president their generation has ever known.
In a behind-the-scenes deal, the military, which moved troops --
allegedly with orders to shoot -- into the center of Jakarta and set up
barriers, agreed to leave the students alone as long as they stayed on
the parliament grounds and off the streets.
But anti-Suharto protests erupted in at least six other cities and
towns. In Suharto's hometown of Yoygakarta, police estimated the
turnout at 250,000. Some witnesses claimed the actual crowd was
twice the official estimate.
Protests in Indonesia grew angrier and bolder in the past week. And
as pandemonium replaced politics, some sober student officials
began to worry about a backlash by the military, which had backed
Suharto's rule.
Correspondents Mike Chinoy and Maria Ressa contributed to
this report.
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