I'll leave it for Gaddafi to answer for himself in the next update .
Indonesia ATL: The Presidency of Try Sutrisno (1997-)
- Thread starter GSD310
- Start date
Like i said if it isn't possible continue buy French warship or acquire from South Korea
He is trying to act as big guy on moeslems world
Doesn't matter. Defense and Security Minister Wismoyo Arismunandar is gonna kick their ass 👊👊👊
Also, its gonna be an interesting intelligence exercise, and a chance to evaluate the reliability of the Jakarta Bloc. It has been proven somehow with Mann army evac from Myanmar. So, it wouldnt be so hard to track the acehnese fighting in Gadaffi pocket, and if its required, to share and prevent any terrorist attack.
The World Circa May 2002 Part 9: Africa Part 5
Morocco:
“The first inkling I had that UN Secretary General Kofi Annan’s predisposition towards us were not all that well was a few months into my assignment. One of the things handled by the United Nations during early 2001 was the situation in Morocco. Morocco had annexed the Western Sahara in 1979 after Mauritania had withdrawn from it. There was a rebellion by a group called the Polisario Front which advocated independence for the Sahrawi people living in the Western Sahara, a ceasefire, and plans for a referendum that had stalled.
The Moroccans had seen the arrangements that we had for East Timor and wanted to propose something similar for Western Sahara: a special administrative region which would nevertheless be part of Morocco. The Indonesian delegation to the United Nations was made aware of Morocco’s interest in such an arrangement though no approach had been made to consult us. The idea ran aground when Annan became aware of it and vetoed it. The official reason was that Morocco should consider a more “relevant and closer example” for regional autonomy, namely the autonomy arrangements they had in Spain.
Even though there was a lot of enthusiasm from Morocco, even from King Muhammad VI, for the arrangement we have in East Timor, I did not push the issue or tried to promote the East Timorese arrangement. The written instructions given to me, which I completely agreed with, by both President Try and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ginandjar Kartasasmita was that Indonesia should not end up picking a fight with the UN Secretary General. And while Indonesia sympathizes with Morocco’s position and supports it in principle, there is the matter of Indonesia’s much more important relationships with Spain and Algeria to maintain; Spain and Algeria being sympathetic to the Polisario Front’s cause.
My concern was how we’ll manage if we experience some kind of a crisis and would need assistance from the UN if the Secretary General is not friendly towards us.”
From: Representing A Rising Nation by Juwono Sudarsono- Indonesian Ambassador to the United Nations (2001-200x)
Algeria:
Domestically, things were picking up for Algeria. The civil war the government waged against Islamists came to an end in February 2002. Economically, the government’s finances were in good order and President Abdoulaziz Bouteflika signed an Algeria-EU Associate Agreement to gain access to the European market in December 2001. For Bouteflika, these developments were all well and good for it allowed him to concentrate on foreign policy.
Adopting a non-aligned stance for the New Cold War, Algeria quickly found itself courted by both Russia and the United States a position which it used to full advantage. In July 2001, Bouteflika and President of Russia Yevgeny Primakov signed an agreement in Moscow which would see Russia forgive Algerian debt in exchange for Algerian purchase of Russian weapons. 9/11 and the ambivalent response by Arab states in the gulf would see Algeria experience the United States’ advances. Meeting with President of the United States John McCain in November 2001, Bouteflika declared his support for the War on Terror in exchange for a lift of the weapons embargo placed on Algeria and support for his government in the Algerian Civil War.
Through it all, Bouteflika asserted Algeria’s independence of stance. In supporting the United States in the War on Terror, Algeria rejected the argument put forward by Russia that Islamic nations should not give unconditional support to the steps taken by the United States after 9/11. At the same time, even as he expressed support for the War on Terror, Bouteflika continued to criticize the rigid adherence to the IMF’s policy prescriptions which the United States expects from nations taking on IMF aid regardless of the economic and social consequences. Such consequences, argued Bouteflika in an effort to link what he was saying to the War on Terror, make fertile breeding ground for extremists.
This criticism of rigid adherence to neo-liberal economic prescriptions had caused Bouteflika to turn to the G-15 as the international forum for Algeria to focus on. The 2001 G-15 Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia were filled with those who had become disillusioned at the IMF’s insistence for strict adherence of its policies most notably Argentina, Turkey, and Kenya. When the 2002 Coup in Venezuela occurred in April 2002 and Interim President of Venezuela Pedro Carmona announced that Venezuela would not be hosting the 2002 G-15 Summit, Bouteflika jumped at the opportunity and volunteered Algiers to host the G-15 Summit. By May 2002, support began to pour in from other members for Algeria to host the G-15 Summit, scheduled for October.
Tunisia:
Tunisia did not have a civil war to content with like its nextdoor neighbour Algeria. Under the leadership of President Zine El Abidine Bin Ali, Tunisia achieved economic prosperity though there were criticisms of inequality, corruption, and repressiveness about the government. With Prime Minister of France Lionel Jospin choosing to distance France, Tunisia’s largest trading partner, from Tunisia it fell to the other “poles” to try filling in the vacuum.
Bin Ali would emulate Boutefilka so far as keeping his nations’ options open were concerned. While supporting the United States in the War on Terror, Bin Ali would continue to call for the sanctions on Iraq to be lifted using the unspoken threat of drifting in Russia’s direction to boost its claim. The United States played it safe in order to gain Tunisia’s support and in February 2002, United States Secretary of State Richard Williamson was in Tunis to sign a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement on behalf of the McCain Administration.
By 2002, Bin Ali had been in power for 15 years with a view to running for re-election in 2004 after a referendum abolished presidential term limits.
Libya:
Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution Muammar Gaddafi smiled at the expression on Fretilin’s Xanana Gusmao’s face. Sitting with them in Gaddafi’s tent, the OPM’s Seth Rumkorem also smiled, thinking that this was probably how he looked when Gaddafi first put forward the idea. The GAM’s Hasan Di Tiro’s smile was more subtle, fitting of a man who had carried the idea in his head for sometime.
“Why is what I’ve said caused such a shock for you? It makes sense, does it not?” asked Gaddafi before repeating his proposal again “The Falintil has taken up arms and failed, the OPM has taken up arms and failed, the GAM has taken up arms and failed…why not combine forces and work together? You bring your resources both men and material and I will provide some assistance from my end.”
Xanana looked at the other men in the room. He kept a poker face.
“I was under the impression that I would be here because you were willing to provide support and assistance for our cause as you have done for countless others”, Xanana said to Gaddafi “But evidently you have other ideas in mind.”
“This idea doesn’t sound the slightest bit interesting to you?” asked Di Tiro.
“Not if you can’t answer the questions I have about your idea”, replied Xanana.
“Then ask away”, encouraged Di Tiro.
“Why not just do what we all have done in the past?” asked Xanana “We’ve risen up and fought against the Republic of Indonesia at the same time; we haven’t coordinated or cooperated, we’ve just simply taken up arms in our respective homelands.”
“The fact that we’re sitting here instead of being over there exchanging diplomatic recognition to each other’s independent homelands says something about whether or not we’ve been successful”, said Rumkorem “We need to combine our strength and attack them at the same time in one place.”
“What about popular support, then?” asked Xanana looking at Rumkorem “In West Papua, they’re building a trans-provincial road with asphalt imported from Trinidad Tobago; in Aceh, I hear there’s more money from the LNG actually going to the refurbishment of schools and hospitals and in Timor Leste, they have a new hospital and a new shopping center in Dili…”
“Roads are also constructed and educational opportunities also expanded under colonialism, which is precisely what the government in Jakarta is doing to our homelands”, countered Di Tiro “Might I also add that gleaming new infrastructure cannot replace the lives lost in Aceh, West Papua, and Timor Leste to the regime in Jakarta whether it be Soekarno, Soeharto, or Try.
“You can’t just ignore the fact that our homelands have done better under Try than under Soeharto”, argued Xanana “Do you think people will sympathize with our cause and rally to us?”
“Such respect and, dareisayit, admiration for Try”, scoffed Gaddafi “Perhaps it was a mistake to ask you to come.”
“No, no, respecting the enemy is good”, defended Di Tiro “There’s a bigger chance of victory that way.”
“And how would I know that Timor Leste would not just merely be working for Aceh’s cause and then be left to dry afterwards?” asked Xanana with a skeptical expression to Di Tiro “Don’t think I don’t know about your friendship with Colonel Gaddafi…this is probably all your idea for all I know…”
“It is indeed because of Mr. Di Tiro and his close relationship with Gaddafi that has made it possible for this meeting to be assembled”, replied Rumkorem “And you’re right to have the concerns that you have but you’ll realize that things will be different, once the people in those three provinces and our own movements see that we have a real chance at victory…”
“The Republic of Indonesia is strong and getting stronger under the leadership of Try”, said Di Tiro “We must make our move together and soon before they become too strong to be stopped.”
Xanana looked around at the other men in the room and then finally made his decision.
“What will the Falintil, the OPM, and the GAM joining forces against Indonesia entail exactly?” asked Xanana.
Gaddafi broke into a smile at that.
“Ah, so good to see everybody getting along so well”, said Gaddafi as he stood up and got ready to leave “But I must go and do some errands now, I’ll let you three freedom fighters discuss about whatever it is you need to discuss.”
Egypt:
President Hosni Mubarak would confess that he’d always felt an affinity with Indonesia’s Try Sutrisno pointing to the fact that they were third in a line of “strongman leaders” in each’s respective nations. Mubarak was known to have said to an Indonesian delegation visiting him in 2001 that “There’s Nasser, Sadat, and me just as there is Soekarno, Soeharto, and Try”. For his part, Try felt that Indonesia should show deference to both Egypt and Mubarak when it comes to international matters both on account of Egypt’s prominence and on account of Egypt being the first nation in the world to recognize Indonesia’s independence.
Further down the ranks of the Indonesian government, the deference to Egypt was more ambiguous. Within BAKIN, the sentiment about Mubarak’s regime was that whilst it is true that the regime had been tough on Islamists and radicals, it could still be considered a failure given that Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al Qaeda’s number two and some of the terrorists that perpetrated 9/11 were Egyptian. The Department of Defense and Security and ABRI Headquarters would think out loud saying that having a military like Egypt’s is probably a goal worth having for Indonesia’s military. The Department of Economics and National Development Planning, however, would counter that there was no point for Egypt to have a military like it did if its economy was stagnant.
Indonesia would do its part for the Egyptian economy by becoming a market for Egyptian commodities. Taking advantage of Egypt’s multiple devaluations of the Egyptian Pound throughout 2001, Indonesian Minister of Trade Anthony Salim signed an agreement to import Egyptian cotton, an important commodity in that country, to Indonesia.
The effusiveness which Mubarak showed for Try, especially in the wake of the latter’s crackdown on Islamists in late January 2001, and the latter’s deference would prove to be pivotal. After Try’s “I’m no moderate” speech at the 2001 APEC Summit in October 2001, it was Mubarak who McCain turned to for advice about how he should “handle Indonesia”. Mubarak told McCain that the latter already knew what to do but would proceed to give what could only be described as a strong recommendation saying that if the United States could not get unequivocal support from the cradle of the Islamic world in its War on Terror, the next best thing would be to get the support of the world’s largest Islamic nation.
---
And we are done with Africa. There will be a few weeks between this one and the next update.
Indonesia’s relationship with Algeria will be further explored in the main TL.
OTL, Venezuela was supposed to host the 2002 G-15 Summit but cancelled it because of political instability. It would not be until 2004 that a G-15 Summit is hosted again with Venezuela at last getting to host the summit. In ITTL, Algeria and other prominent developing nations are anxious to establish the G-15 as a forum for cooperation in the multipolar world.
In OTL, Gaddafi has been positively identified as a backer of the GAM. With the OPM and Timor Leste’s struggle for independence he is only a “reported” supporter.
nasional.tempo.co
There is little evidence to suggests that the various separatist movements in Indonesia have seriously cooperated with each other on the battlefield but if this post in Quora suggests that they show solidarity with each other and their overseas branches demonstrate together against Indonesia (https://id.quora.com/Bagaimana-hubungan-pemberontak-GAM-di-Aceh-dengan-OPM-di-Papua). There is still one more separatist group, the RMS, but I’ll safe that for later.
I know I promised that Gaddafi will explain himself in the current update but I tried writing it multiple times and did not work out so I will safe that for later too.
“The first inkling I had that UN Secretary General Kofi Annan’s predisposition towards us were not all that well was a few months into my assignment. One of the things handled by the United Nations during early 2001 was the situation in Morocco. Morocco had annexed the Western Sahara in 1979 after Mauritania had withdrawn from it. There was a rebellion by a group called the Polisario Front which advocated independence for the Sahrawi people living in the Western Sahara, a ceasefire, and plans for a referendum that had stalled.
The Moroccans had seen the arrangements that we had for East Timor and wanted to propose something similar for Western Sahara: a special administrative region which would nevertheless be part of Morocco. The Indonesian delegation to the United Nations was made aware of Morocco’s interest in such an arrangement though no approach had been made to consult us. The idea ran aground when Annan became aware of it and vetoed it. The official reason was that Morocco should consider a more “relevant and closer example” for regional autonomy, namely the autonomy arrangements they had in Spain.
Even though there was a lot of enthusiasm from Morocco, even from King Muhammad VI, for the arrangement we have in East Timor, I did not push the issue or tried to promote the East Timorese arrangement. The written instructions given to me, which I completely agreed with, by both President Try and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ginandjar Kartasasmita was that Indonesia should not end up picking a fight with the UN Secretary General. And while Indonesia sympathizes with Morocco’s position and supports it in principle, there is the matter of Indonesia’s much more important relationships with Spain and Algeria to maintain; Spain and Algeria being sympathetic to the Polisario Front’s cause.
My concern was how we’ll manage if we experience some kind of a crisis and would need assistance from the UN if the Secretary General is not friendly towards us.”
From: Representing A Rising Nation by Juwono Sudarsono- Indonesian Ambassador to the United Nations (2001-200x)
Algeria:
Domestically, things were picking up for Algeria. The civil war the government waged against Islamists came to an end in February 2002. Economically, the government’s finances were in good order and President Abdoulaziz Bouteflika signed an Algeria-EU Associate Agreement to gain access to the European market in December 2001. For Bouteflika, these developments were all well and good for it allowed him to concentrate on foreign policy.
Adopting a non-aligned stance for the New Cold War, Algeria quickly found itself courted by both Russia and the United States a position which it used to full advantage. In July 2001, Bouteflika and President of Russia Yevgeny Primakov signed an agreement in Moscow which would see Russia forgive Algerian debt in exchange for Algerian purchase of Russian weapons. 9/11 and the ambivalent response by Arab states in the gulf would see Algeria experience the United States’ advances. Meeting with President of the United States John McCain in November 2001, Bouteflika declared his support for the War on Terror in exchange for a lift of the weapons embargo placed on Algeria and support for his government in the Algerian Civil War.
Through it all, Bouteflika asserted Algeria’s independence of stance. In supporting the United States in the War on Terror, Algeria rejected the argument put forward by Russia that Islamic nations should not give unconditional support to the steps taken by the United States after 9/11. At the same time, even as he expressed support for the War on Terror, Bouteflika continued to criticize the rigid adherence to the IMF’s policy prescriptions which the United States expects from nations taking on IMF aid regardless of the economic and social consequences. Such consequences, argued Bouteflika in an effort to link what he was saying to the War on Terror, make fertile breeding ground for extremists.
This criticism of rigid adherence to neo-liberal economic prescriptions had caused Bouteflika to turn to the G-15 as the international forum for Algeria to focus on. The 2001 G-15 Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia were filled with those who had become disillusioned at the IMF’s insistence for strict adherence of its policies most notably Argentina, Turkey, and Kenya. When the 2002 Coup in Venezuela occurred in April 2002 and Interim President of Venezuela Pedro Carmona announced that Venezuela would not be hosting the 2002 G-15 Summit, Bouteflika jumped at the opportunity and volunteered Algiers to host the G-15 Summit. By May 2002, support began to pour in from other members for Algeria to host the G-15 Summit, scheduled for October.
Tunisia:
Tunisia did not have a civil war to content with like its nextdoor neighbour Algeria. Under the leadership of President Zine El Abidine Bin Ali, Tunisia achieved economic prosperity though there were criticisms of inequality, corruption, and repressiveness about the government. With Prime Minister of France Lionel Jospin choosing to distance France, Tunisia’s largest trading partner, from Tunisia it fell to the other “poles” to try filling in the vacuum.
Bin Ali would emulate Boutefilka so far as keeping his nations’ options open were concerned. While supporting the United States in the War on Terror, Bin Ali would continue to call for the sanctions on Iraq to be lifted using the unspoken threat of drifting in Russia’s direction to boost its claim. The United States played it safe in order to gain Tunisia’s support and in February 2002, United States Secretary of State Richard Williamson was in Tunis to sign a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement on behalf of the McCain Administration.
By 2002, Bin Ali had been in power for 15 years with a view to running for re-election in 2004 after a referendum abolished presidential term limits.
Libya:
Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution Muammar Gaddafi smiled at the expression on Fretilin’s Xanana Gusmao’s face. Sitting with them in Gaddafi’s tent, the OPM’s Seth Rumkorem also smiled, thinking that this was probably how he looked when Gaddafi first put forward the idea. The GAM’s Hasan Di Tiro’s smile was more subtle, fitting of a man who had carried the idea in his head for sometime.
“Why is what I’ve said caused such a shock for you? It makes sense, does it not?” asked Gaddafi before repeating his proposal again “The Falintil has taken up arms and failed, the OPM has taken up arms and failed, the GAM has taken up arms and failed…why not combine forces and work together? You bring your resources both men and material and I will provide some assistance from my end.”
Xanana looked at the other men in the room. He kept a poker face.
“I was under the impression that I would be here because you were willing to provide support and assistance for our cause as you have done for countless others”, Xanana said to Gaddafi “But evidently you have other ideas in mind.”
“This idea doesn’t sound the slightest bit interesting to you?” asked Di Tiro.
“Not if you can’t answer the questions I have about your idea”, replied Xanana.
“Then ask away”, encouraged Di Tiro.
“Why not just do what we all have done in the past?” asked Xanana “We’ve risen up and fought against the Republic of Indonesia at the same time; we haven’t coordinated or cooperated, we’ve just simply taken up arms in our respective homelands.”
“The fact that we’re sitting here instead of being over there exchanging diplomatic recognition to each other’s independent homelands says something about whether or not we’ve been successful”, said Rumkorem “We need to combine our strength and attack them at the same time in one place.”
“What about popular support, then?” asked Xanana looking at Rumkorem “In West Papua, they’re building a trans-provincial road with asphalt imported from Trinidad Tobago; in Aceh, I hear there’s more money from the LNG actually going to the refurbishment of schools and hospitals and in Timor Leste, they have a new hospital and a new shopping center in Dili…”
“Roads are also constructed and educational opportunities also expanded under colonialism, which is precisely what the government in Jakarta is doing to our homelands”, countered Di Tiro “Might I also add that gleaming new infrastructure cannot replace the lives lost in Aceh, West Papua, and Timor Leste to the regime in Jakarta whether it be Soekarno, Soeharto, or Try.
“You can’t just ignore the fact that our homelands have done better under Try than under Soeharto”, argued Xanana “Do you think people will sympathize with our cause and rally to us?”
“Such respect and, dareisayit, admiration for Try”, scoffed Gaddafi “Perhaps it was a mistake to ask you to come.”
“No, no, respecting the enemy is good”, defended Di Tiro “There’s a bigger chance of victory that way.”
“And how would I know that Timor Leste would not just merely be working for Aceh’s cause and then be left to dry afterwards?” asked Xanana with a skeptical expression to Di Tiro “Don’t think I don’t know about your friendship with Colonel Gaddafi…this is probably all your idea for all I know…”
“It is indeed because of Mr. Di Tiro and his close relationship with Gaddafi that has made it possible for this meeting to be assembled”, replied Rumkorem “And you’re right to have the concerns that you have but you’ll realize that things will be different, once the people in those three provinces and our own movements see that we have a real chance at victory…”
“The Republic of Indonesia is strong and getting stronger under the leadership of Try”, said Di Tiro “We must make our move together and soon before they become too strong to be stopped.”
Xanana looked around at the other men in the room and then finally made his decision.
“What will the Falintil, the OPM, and the GAM joining forces against Indonesia entail exactly?” asked Xanana.
Gaddafi broke into a smile at that.
“Ah, so good to see everybody getting along so well”, said Gaddafi as he stood up and got ready to leave “But I must go and do some errands now, I’ll let you three freedom fighters discuss about whatever it is you need to discuss.”
Egypt:
President Hosni Mubarak would confess that he’d always felt an affinity with Indonesia’s Try Sutrisno pointing to the fact that they were third in a line of “strongman leaders” in each’s respective nations. Mubarak was known to have said to an Indonesian delegation visiting him in 2001 that “There’s Nasser, Sadat, and me just as there is Soekarno, Soeharto, and Try”. For his part, Try felt that Indonesia should show deference to both Egypt and Mubarak when it comes to international matters both on account of Egypt’s prominence and on account of Egypt being the first nation in the world to recognize Indonesia’s independence.
Further down the ranks of the Indonesian government, the deference to Egypt was more ambiguous. Within BAKIN, the sentiment about Mubarak’s regime was that whilst it is true that the regime had been tough on Islamists and radicals, it could still be considered a failure given that Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al Qaeda’s number two and some of the terrorists that perpetrated 9/11 were Egyptian. The Department of Defense and Security and ABRI Headquarters would think out loud saying that having a military like Egypt’s is probably a goal worth having for Indonesia’s military. The Department of Economics and National Development Planning, however, would counter that there was no point for Egypt to have a military like it did if its economy was stagnant.
Indonesia would do its part for the Egyptian economy by becoming a market for Egyptian commodities. Taking advantage of Egypt’s multiple devaluations of the Egyptian Pound throughout 2001, Indonesian Minister of Trade Anthony Salim signed an agreement to import Egyptian cotton, an important commodity in that country, to Indonesia.
The effusiveness which Mubarak showed for Try, especially in the wake of the latter’s crackdown on Islamists in late January 2001, and the latter’s deference would prove to be pivotal. After Try’s “I’m no moderate” speech at the 2001 APEC Summit in October 2001, it was Mubarak who McCain turned to for advice about how he should “handle Indonesia”. Mubarak told McCain that the latter already knew what to do but would proceed to give what could only be described as a strong recommendation saying that if the United States could not get unequivocal support from the cradle of the Islamic world in its War on Terror, the next best thing would be to get the support of the world’s largest Islamic nation.
---
And we are done with Africa. There will be a few weeks between this one and the next update.
Indonesia’s relationship with Algeria will be further explored in the main TL.
OTL, Venezuela was supposed to host the 2002 G-15 Summit but cancelled it because of political instability. It would not be until 2004 that a G-15 Summit is hosted again with Venezuela at last getting to host the summit. In ITTL, Algeria and other prominent developing nations are anxious to establish the G-15 as a forum for cooperation in the multipolar world.
In OTL, Gaddafi has been positively identified as a backer of the GAM. With the OPM and Timor Leste’s struggle for independence he is only a “reported” supporter.
“Ribuan Anggota GAM Pernah Dilatih di Libya”
Libyan terrorism: the case against Gaddafi. - Free Online Library
Free Online Library: Libyan terrorism: the case against Gaddafi. by "Contemporary Review"; News, opinion and commentary Literature, writing, book reviews Terrorism
www.thefreelibrary.com
There is little evidence to suggests that the various separatist movements in Indonesia have seriously cooperated with each other on the battlefield but if this post in Quora suggests that they show solidarity with each other and their overseas branches demonstrate together against Indonesia (https://id.quora.com/Bagaimana-hubungan-pemberontak-GAM-di-Aceh-dengan-OPM-di-Papua). There is still one more separatist group, the RMS, but I’ll safe that for later.
I know I promised that Gaddafi will explain himself in the current update but I tried writing it multiple times and did not work out so I will safe that for later too.
BAKIN would have a field day and livid when they find this out. Or it would become a massive Intelligence failure if they didn’t know about this. Regardless tho I hope Try and the Gov found out about this. And when they found out, well I expect Indonesia would put Libya immediately as an enemy state (maybe even indirectly support the 2011 airstrikes on Libya but that’s kinda far fetched).Morocco:
“The first inkling I had that UN Secretary General Kofi Annan’s predisposition towards us were not all that well was a few months into my assignment. One of the things handled by the United Nations during early 2001 was the situation in Morocco. Morocco had annexed the Western Sahara in 1979 after Mauritania had withdrawn from it. There was a rebellion by a group called the Polisario Front which advocated independence for the Sahrawi people living in the Western Sahara, a ceasefire, and plans for a referendum that had stalled.
The Moroccans had seen the arrangements that we had for East Timor and wanted to propose something similar for Western Sahara: a special administrative region which would nevertheless be part of Morocco. The Indonesian delegation to the United Nations was made aware of Morocco’s interest in such an arrangement though no approach had been made to consult us. The idea ran aground when Annan became aware of it and vetoed it. The official reason was that Morocco should consider a more “relevant and closer example” for regional autonomy, namely the autonomy arrangements they had in Spain.
Even though there was a lot of enthusiasm from Morocco, even from King Muhammad VI, for the arrangement we have in East Timor, I did not push the issue or tried to promote the East Timorese arrangement. The written instructions given to me, which I completely agreed with, by both President Try and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ginandjar Kartasasmita was that Indonesia should not end up picking a fight with the UN Secretary General. And while Indonesia sympathizes with Morocco’s position and supports it in principle, there is the matter of Indonesia’s much more important relationships with Spain and Algeria to maintain; Spain and Algeria being sympathetic to the Polisario Front’s cause.
My concern was how we’ll manage if we experience some kind of a crisis and would need assistance from the UN if the Secretary General is not friendly towards us.”
From: Representing A Rising Nation by Juwono Sudarsono- Indonesian Ambassador to the United Nations (2001-200x)
Algeria:
Domestically, things were picking up for Algeria. The civil war the government waged against Islamists came to an end in February 2002. Economically, the government’s finances were in good order and President Abdoulaziz Bouteflika signed an Algeria-EU Associate Agreement to gain access to the European market in December 2001. For Bouteflika, these developments were all well and good for it allowed him to concentrate on foreign policy.
Adopting a non-aligned stance for the New Cold War, Algeria quickly found itself courted by both Russia and the United States a position which it used to full advantage. In July 2001, Bouteflika and President of Russia Yevgeny Primakov signed an agreement in Moscow which would see Russia forgive Algerian debt in exchange for Algerian purchase of Russian weapons. 9/11 and the ambivalent response by Arab states in the gulf would see Algeria experience the United States’ advances. Meeting with President of the United States John McCain in November 2001, Bouteflika declared his support for the War on Terror in exchange for a lift of the weapons embargo placed on Algeria and support for his government in the Algerian Civil War.
Through it all, Bouteflika asserted Algeria’s independence of stance. In supporting the United States in the War on Terror, Algeria rejected the argument put forward by Russia that Islamic nations should not give unconditional support to the steps taken by the United States after 9/11. At the same time, even as he expressed support for the War on Terror, Bouteflika continued to criticize the rigid adherence to the IMF’s policy prescriptions which the United States expects from nations taking on IMF aid regardless of the economic and social consequences. Such consequences, argued Bouteflika in an effort to link what he was saying to the War on Terror, make fertile breeding ground for extremists.
This criticism of rigid adherence to neo-liberal economic prescriptions had caused Bouteflika to turn to the G-15 as the international forum for Algeria to focus on. The 2001 G-15 Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia were filled with those who had become disillusioned at the IMF’s insistence for strict adherence of its policies most notably Argentina, Turkey, and Kenya. When the 2002 Coup in Venezuela occurred in April 2002 and Interim President of Venezuela Pedro Carmona announced that Venezuela would not be hosting the 2002 G-15 Summit, Bouteflika jumped at the opportunity and volunteered Algiers to host the G-15 Summit. By May 2002, support began to pour in from other members for Algeria to host the G-15 Summit, scheduled for October.
Tunisia:
Tunisia did not have a civil war to content with like its nextdoor neighbour Algeria. Under the leadership of President Zine El Abidine Bin Ali, Tunisia achieved economic prosperity though there were criticisms of inequality, corruption, and repressiveness about the government. With Prime Minister of France Lionel Jospin choosing to distance France, Tunisia’s largest trading partner, from Tunisia it fell to the other “poles” to try filling in the vacuum.
Bin Ali would emulate Boutefilka so far as keeping his nations’ options open were concerned. While supporting the United States in the War on Terror, Bin Ali would continue to call for the sanctions on Iraq to be lifted using the unspoken threat of drifting in Russia’s direction to boost its claim. The United States played it safe in order to gain Tunisia’s support and in February 2002, United States Secretary of State Richard Williamson was in Tunis to sign a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement on behalf of the McCain Administration.
By 2002, Bin Ali had been in power for 15 years with a view to running for re-election in 2004 after a referendum abolished presidential term limits.
Libya:
Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution Muammar Gaddafi smiled at the expression on Fretilin’s Xanana Gusmao’s face. Sitting with them in Gaddafi’s tent, the OPM’s Seth Rumkorem also smiled, thinking that this was probably how he looked when Gaddafi first put forward the idea. The GAM’s Hasan Di Tiro’s smile was more subtle, fitting of a man who had carried the idea in his head for sometime.
“Why is what I’ve said caused such a shock for you? It makes sense, does it not?” asked Gaddafi before repeating his proposal again “The Falintil has taken up arms and failed, the OPM has taken up arms and failed, the GAM has taken up arms and failed…why not combine forces and work together? You bring your resources both men and material and I will provide some assistance from my end.”
Xanana looked at the other men in the room. He kept a poker face.
“I was under the impression that I would be here because you were willing to provide support and assistance for our cause as you have done for countless others”, Xanana said to Gaddafi “But evidently you have other ideas in mind.”
“This idea doesn’t sound the slightest bit interesting to you?” asked Di Tiro.
“Not if you can’t answer the questions I have about your idea”, replied Xanana.
“Then ask away”, encouraged Di Tiro.
“Why not just do what we all have done in the past?” asked Xanana “We’ve risen up and fought against the Republic of Indonesia at the same time; we haven’t coordinated or cooperated, we’ve just simply taken up arms in our respective homelands.”
“The fact that we’re sitting here instead of being over there exchanging diplomatic recognition to each other’s independent homelands says something about whether or not we’ve been successful”, said Rumkorem “We need to combine our strength and attack them at the same time in one place.”
“What about popular support, then?” asked Xanana looking at Rumkorem “In West Papua, they’re building a trans-provincial road with asphalt imported from Trinidad Tobago; in Aceh, I hear there’s more money from the LNG actually going to the refurbishment of schools and hospitals and in Timor Leste, they have a new hospital and a new shopping center in Dili…”
“Roads are also constructed and educational opportunities also expanded under colonialism, which is precisely what the government in Jakarta is doing to our homelands”, countered Di Tiro “Might I also add that gleaming new infrastructure cannot replace the lives lost in Aceh, West Papua, and Timor Leste to the regime in Jakarta whether it be Soekarno, Soeharto, or Try.
“You can’t just ignore the fact that our homelands have done better under Try than under Soeharto”, argued Xanana “Do you think people will sympathize with our cause and rally to us?”
“Such respect and, dareisayit, admiration for Try”, scoffed Gaddafi “Perhaps it was a mistake to ask you to come.”
“No, no, respecting the enemy is good”, defended Di Tiro “There’s a bigger chance of victory that way.”
“And how would I know that Timor Leste would not just merely be working for Aceh’s cause and then be left to dry afterwards?” asked Xanana with a skeptical expression to Di Tiro “Don’t think I don’t know about your friendship with Colonel Gaddafi…this is probably all your idea for all I know…”
“It is indeed because of Mr. Di Tiro and his close relationship with Gaddafi that has made it possible for this meeting to be assembled”, replied Rumkorem “And you’re right to have the concerns that you have but you’ll realize that things will be different, once the people in those three provinces and our own movements see that we have a real chance at victory…”
“The Republic of Indonesia is strong and getting stronger under the leadership of Try”, said Di Tiro “We must make our move together and soon before they become too strong to be stopped.”
Xanana looked around at the other men in the room and then finally made his decision.
“What will the Falintil, the OPM, and the GAM joining forces against Indonesia entail exactly?” asked Xanana.
Gaddafi broke into a smile at that.
“Ah, so good to see everybody getting along so well”, said Gaddafi as he stood up and got ready to leave “But I must go and do some errands now, I’ll let you three freedom fighters discuss about whatever it is you need to discuss.”
Egypt:
President Hosni Mubarak would confess that he’d always felt an affinity with Indonesia’s Try Sutrisno pointing to the fact that they were third in a line of “strongman leaders” in each’s respective nations. Mubarak was known to have said to an Indonesian delegation visiting him in 2001 that “There’s Nasser, Sadat, and me just as there is Soekarno, Soeharto, and Try”. For his part, Try felt that Indonesia should show deference to both Egypt and Mubarak when it comes to international matters both on account of Egypt’s prominence and on account of Egypt being the first nation in the world to recognize Indonesia’s independence.
Further down the ranks of the Indonesian government, the deference to Egypt was more ambiguous. Within BAKIN, the sentiment about Mubarak’s regime was that whilst it is true that the regime had been tough on Islamists and radicals, it could still be considered a failure given that Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al Qaeda’s number two and some of the terrorists that perpetrated 9/11 were Egyptian. The Department of Defense and Security and ABRI Headquarters would think out loud saying that having a military like Egypt’s is probably a goal worth having for Indonesia’s military. The Department of Economics and National Development Planning, however, would counter that there was no point for Egypt to have a military like it did if its economy was stagnant.
Indonesia would do its part for the Egyptian economy by becoming a market for Egyptian commodities. Taking advantage of Egypt’s multiple devaluations of the Egyptian Pound throughout 2001, Indonesian Minister of Trade Anthony Salim signed an agreement to import Egyptian cotton, an important commodity in that country, to Indonesia.
The effusiveness which Mubarak showed for Try, especially in the wake of the latter’s crackdown on Islamists in late January 2001, and the latter’s deference would prove to be pivotal. After Try’s “I’m no moderate” speech at the 2001 APEC Summit in October 2001, it was Mubarak who McCain turned to for advice about how he should “handle Indonesia”. Mubarak told McCain that the latter already knew what to do but would proceed to give what could only be described as a strong recommendation saying that if the United States could not get unequivocal support from the cradle of the Islamic world in its War on Terror, the next best thing would be to get the support of the world’s largest Islamic nation.
---
And we are done with Africa. There will be a few weeks between this one and the next update.
Indonesia’s relationship with Algeria will be further explored in the main TL.
OTL, Venezuela was supposed to host the 2002 G-15 Summit but cancelled it because of political instability. It would not be until 2004 that a G-15 Summit is hosted again with Venezuela at last getting to host the summit. In ITTL, Algeria and other prominent developing nations are anxious to establish the G-15 as a forum for cooperation in the multipolar world.
In OTL, Gaddafi has been positively identified as a backer of the GAM. With the OPM and Timor Leste’s struggle for independence he is only a “reported” supporter.
“Ribuan Anggota GAM Pernah Dilatih di Libya”
Libyan terrorism: the case against Gaddafi. - Free Online Library
Free Online Library: Libyan terrorism: the case against Gaddafi. by "Contemporary Review"; News, opinion and commentary Literature, writing, book reviews Terrorismwww.thefreelibrary.com
There is little evidence to suggests that the various separatist movements in Indonesia have seriously cooperated with each other on the battlefield but if this post in Quora suggests that they show solidarity with each other and their overseas branches demonstrate together against Indonesia (https://id.quora.com/Bagaimana-hubungan-pemberontak-GAM-di-Aceh-dengan-OPM-di-Papua). There is still one more separatist group, the RMS, but I’ll safe that for later.
I know I promised that Gaddafi will explain himself in the current update but I tried writing it multiple times and did not work out so I will safe that for later too.
Also whats up with the UN SecGen disliking Indonesia. I remembered past chapters there are parts where the SecGen being antagonistic towards Indonesia. So whats his problem with Indonesia
Pretty much. OTL, even before Soeharto’s fall and even before Habibie decides to hold a referendum, Annan was already looking to make East Timor a priority (https://www.google.co.id/books/edit...n+east+timor+1997&pg=PA10&printsec=frontcover).
For Annan and other Timor Leste Independence supporters, the aggravation with ITTL Indonesia comes from the fact that it reached a settlement with and about East Timor (ie. East Timor given Special Region Status) while the world was distracted with the Kosovo War.
ITTL Try has a strong ally in Egypt and i think he knows it. I doubt he tries to use it as a shield once the whole Gaddafi affair is uncovered, but all the assistance would be welcome, even with the import of commodities. Also, its the 5th fertilizers producer in the world - an alternative to Togo phosphates.
Would Serbia give Kosovo Special Region Status? That would leave Annan jobless.
Try will find that he has plenty of allies and well-wishers. But to balance it, he will have his share of enemies and haters on the international stage as well. As we get geographically close to Indonesia, they will become more evident.
Annan won’t be jobless but my feeling tells me he will eventually have a run-in with Try.
Serbia and Kosovo will have its own path. ITTL, Milosevic is still President with the Bulldozer Revolution not occurring simply because he did not hold a snap election.
Annan won’t be jobless but my feeling tells me he will eventually have a run-in with Try.
180: Continuing The Fight
Yeah, I'm never going to get it right when it comes to having an update on what's going on around the world.
I thought that in the past I'd crashed and burned because I had started out with the nations closest to Indonesia and then I'd lose interest as I got to the nations which are further away because I'd want to got back to Indonesia.
This time I thought that if I started out with the nations furthest away from Indonesia, I'd maintain interest as I got to the nations which are closer. This turns out to be wrong, because I still want to go back to write about what will happen next with Try and Co. I further resisted this desire to go back to writing about Indonesia but certain things about where this TL is headed fell into place while I went on a holiday these past few weeks that the temptation to go back to Indonesia. has become too much. On a side note, I've just looked at the calendar and it's been 5 months since I've started to go "around the world".
With humble apologies for those who had been following the developments of the various countries, I will now resume with Try and Indonesia's story.
8th June 2002:
Security was tightened all over Indonesia as the nation’s eyes turned on Jakarta for what proved to be a dramatic day.
Though everyone thought all of the attention that day would be focused on the KPU Building and the announcement of the vote count, all of the nation’s news outlets also sent their personnel to the Presidential Palace where the President had convened a cabinet meeting at very short notice. What resulted was a split screen on Indonesian television sets; the left side showing reporters pacing about at the Presidential Palace, the right side showing Chairman of the KPU HBL Mantiri presiding at the KPU building tallying up all of the parties’ votes across the provinces.
Sitting across from Mantiri at four separate desks were chairpersons and secretaries of all of the political parties. Chairwoman of the PNI Megawati Soekarnoputri was accompanied Secretary of the PNI/Chairman of the PNI National Campaign Sutjipto. A cheerful looking Chairwoman of the PKPB Tutut Soeharto and Secretary of the PKPB ZA Maulani represented their party while Chairman of the PKPI Basofi Sudirman looked grim sitting next to Secretary of the PKPI Joyokusumo. Chairman of the PPP Matori Abdul Djalil and Secretary of the PPP Bachtiar Chamsyah both looked relieved that the process was going to be over soon. Behind these functionaries sat their parties’ most senior and loyal supporters to give moral support.
The moment everyone was waiting for came at 11.30 AM.
“Ladies and gentleman, we now arrive at the total national vote count.
Though we have over 140 million voters registered, when the invalid votes and the blank ballots are deducted, we are left with 130,280,817 valid votes. I will announce how many of these votes the political parties have obtained.”
There was silence in the room.
“With 17,197,067 ballots cast for it or 13.2% of the votes and obtaining 56 seats in the DPR: the Partai Nasional Indonesia!”
There were yells of “Merdeka! Merdeka!” from the PNI members who had been allowed into the room as Megawati stood up and nodded her head in the direction of Mantiri before turning around to tell her followers to keep quiet.
“With 22,017,458 ballots cast for it or 16.9% of the votes and obtaining 73 seats in the DPR: the Partai Persatuan Pembangunan!”
This time yells of “Allahu Akbar!” filled the room and a section of the PPP supporters broke into the “Sholawat Badar” song of praise. Matori himself was seen saying a prayer of thanks.
“With 43,774,355 ballots cast for it or 33.6% of the votes and obtaining 143 seats in the DPR: the Partai Karya Pembangunan Indonesia!”
Basofi seemed resigned to the announcement while the PKPI supporters in the room began a “Try! Try! Try!” chant that was drowned by the cheers of the PKPB supporters for this confirmed that the latter’s party had gained the most votes.
“Quiet please”, said Mantiri as he bent down to read the figures in front of him.
“With 47,291,937 ballots cast for it or 36.3% of the votes and obtaining 153 seats in the DPR: the Partai Karya Pembangunan Bangsa!”
At her table, Tutut wiped away tears of joy as the PKPB supporters made so much noise in their joy that the room looked like it was beginning to shake on the television screen. It was an amazing feat for Mantiri to get them to be silent one more time.
“The chairs of the PNI, the PPP, and the PKPI, if any of you would like to appeal this count you have a week to lodge an appeal and provide the accompanying evidence, before the election results are certified next week”, said Mantiri “Otherwise, for the moment, I declare that based on the KPU’s count, the PKPB has gained the most ballots, the most votes, and the most seats at the 2002 Election.”
Once the session was closed and the media outlets got their initial comments and reactions from elections participants and observers alike, all eyes turned to the Presidential Palace where the cabinet met.
That it was called at short notice attracted attention and the fact that ministers avoided explaining what the meeting was about when they emerged out of it was intriguing.
It fell to Minister of Legal Affairs Marzuki Darusman to explain what the meeting was seemingly about. Marzuki announced that the government has approved of a Government Regulation in Lieu of Law because the DPR is out of session at the moment. This government regulation amends certain articles within the Immigration Law.
“In article 7 of our Immigration Law, it is stipulated that visa waivers are given to whole nationalities rather than individuals”, explained Marzuki “What we want is to give visa waivers to certain individuals regardless of their nationality.”
As the ministers departed, Chairman of the DPR Harmoko was seen arriving at the Presidential Palace. His meeting was a short one for he was seen walking out some 15 minutes after he arrived. Harmoko only said to the gathered press that he discussed “certain matters” with the President but would not specify if it was about whether he will be running for re-election as chairman of the DPR or about the election results.
There were a lot of gasps when the Ambassadors of Thailand, the Philippines, Laos, and Vietnam all arrived at the Presidential Palace. They were escorted inside to their audience by Minister of Foreign Affairs Ginandjar Kartasasmita and State Secretary Edi Sudrajat. Once their audience was finished, they disappeared without any comments and it became Edi's duty to address the press.
“The ambassadors of our closest friends in the region had an audience with the President today to spoke about issues in our region”, said Edi “The President will address this when he addresses the nation tonight.”
“Will the President also be addressing the election results?” asked one member of the press.
“The President will address the nation tonight on various issues”, replied Edi before calling an end to the doorstop press conference “That will be all.”
It was a Saturday night, people flocked to the shopping centers with a sense of relief that the 2002 Elections were now out of the way. But affairs of the state would occupy their minds. At 8 PM, television screens at electronic shops began broadcasting pictures from the Presidential Palace. Not long after that, President Try Sutrisno himself appeared to stand behind the microphones. After taking his speech from his aide-de-camp, Col. Budiman, the President began to speak.
“Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.
Fellow Indonesians wherever you may be,
I come before you tonight out of a desire to highlight the importance of what our nation has completed. In holding of the 2002 Election, our nation has once again bore witness to the stability of our political system; of being sufficiently stable to hold election at regular intervals. This is an important achievement for this political stability is what has allowed us to conduct the work of economic development. I pay tribute for all those involved: the officials and vote counters at the KPU, ABRI for providing the security, all four political parties for their participation, and most importantly the 140 million voters who have participated in this process.
Of the election results, I would like to congratulate the PKPB and its chairwoman, Mrs. Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, for gaining the largest number of votes at the election. As president, I do not seek to dispute this result and hope that the PPP and the PNI.
As a PKPI member, I also will not seek to dispute the election results and call upon my fellow PKPI members to do the same.
Fellow Indonesians,
With the elections behind us, we can now look forward to the next events on our political calendar. The new DPR/MPR will be sworn in on 1st October 2002, the MPR will meet in its General Session in March 2003, and the end of the current presidential term on 11th March 2003.
I am sure that there will be a lot of questions about this last date. Whether about what will happen after the 11th March 2003 or whether or not I am interested in continuing to hold this office after 11th March 2003. I will address neither of these matters tonight. What I will address is what will happen between today and 11th March 2003.
Between now and the end of current presidential term, I renew my commitment to continue working in the interests of our nation and the interests of the people.
I will continue to enact economic policies to sustain our strong economic performance post-crisis, I will go ahead with the revocations of licenses of forest concessions which have not complied with our regulations and I will continue the work of national development; making sure that we have a chance at finishing Repelita VII strong so that we can enter Repelita VIII from an advantageous position.
And I will also make sure that when it comes to matters relating to our national security, I will continue to act in our nation’s interest.
This is why tonight, I am announcing to you that we have completed the evacuation of 30,439 men, women, and children from Myanmar; members of the Tatmadaw and their families who will be persecuted by the new regime in Rangoon had they remained in the country, the new regime whose emergence has been endorsed by a power seeking to interfere in our region.
I have taken this stance because it is important that those seeking to interfere in the internal affairs of Southeast Asian nations must be checked, they must not be allowed to feel that they can get their way in their region…”
---
At Cendana Street, Tutut Soeharto sat in a couch in the living room watching all this unfold. Chairman of the PKPB’s National Campaign Prabowo Subianto paced around.
“Talk about raining on our parade”, grumbled Tutut as she pointed to the image of the President giving a speech on the screen “Our election victory will now have to share the stage with his announcement.”
“There’s a signal in that statement, whether it be for us or the Chinese, Mbakyu”, said Prabowo “Between now and the end of his term, we can all expect him to continue putting up a fight.”
9th June 2002:
The election results in Indonesia were quickly overshadowed by President Try's announcement that Indonesia had taken in Tatmadaw personnel and their families from Myanmar, including Lt. Gen. Shwe Mann a member of the overthrown Than Shwe Regime, and were planning to integrate the men into ABRI as an auxiliary force.
It was a Sunday but statements were flowing in from governments in the region.
The statements of support were led by Vietnam with General Secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party Nong Duc Manh calling the evacuation of Shwe Mann, his men, and their families an act of “decisive regional leadership”. The Philippines’ statement said that President of the Philippines Joseph Estrada “expected nothing less from President Try”. Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra issued a low-key statement, saying that whilst he supported the steps taken by Indonesia, Thailand had not facilitated the evacuation despite being the nation immediately to Myanmar’s east. Prime Minister of Laos Bounnhang Vourachith called on Laos, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand to “band together” behind Indonesia’s leadership.
The neutrals banded together. Prime Minister of Singapore Goh Chok Tong and Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah issued a joint statement saying that their respective countries would like time to study the “ramifications of what has happened on the region”.
Indonesia’s detractors in the region did not waste any time letting their thoughts be known. The statement issued by Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak seemed bent on using the opportunity to espouse the idea, which Najib himself liked to promote, that Indonesia had “hegemonic aspirations”. Prime Minister of Cambodia Hun Sen stated that as the chair and the host of the 2002 ASEAN Summit, Cambodia has grave concerns for ASEAN in the aftermath of “Indonesia’s actions”.
Then came Myanmar’s statement, delivered personally by Chairman of the SPDC Khin Nyunt.
“As a result of the Republic of Indonesia’s open harboring of rebel and mutineering Myanmarian military officers and personnel which are hostile to the government, I announce that effective on 16th June, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar will be severing diplomatic relations with the Republic of Indonesia.
At the same time, however, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar will continue to be a member of and will not withdraw from or cease being a member of ASEAN. We will not give the Republic of Indonesia the satisfaction of a majority in ASEAN with which it could pursue its hegemonic agenda.”
---
This would have been an unprecedented event in ITTL Indonesia given that it has not experienced the political turbulence of 1998: the President’s party has officially lost the legislative election and the President has refused to dispute the results. Difficult to contemplate Golkar losing under Soeharto much less imagine how he would react to it.
ITTL ASEAN oh ITTL ASEAN, what will happen to you now, the lines between a pro-Indonesian bloc, an anti-Indonesian bloc, and a neutral bloc gets clearer by the day.
I thought that in the past I'd crashed and burned because I had started out with the nations closest to Indonesia and then I'd lose interest as I got to the nations which are further away because I'd want to got back to Indonesia.
This time I thought that if I started out with the nations furthest away from Indonesia, I'd maintain interest as I got to the nations which are closer. This turns out to be wrong, because I still want to go back to write about what will happen next with Try and Co. I further resisted this desire to go back to writing about Indonesia but certain things about where this TL is headed fell into place while I went on a holiday these past few weeks that the temptation to go back to Indonesia. has become too much. On a side note, I've just looked at the calendar and it's been 5 months since I've started to go "around the world".
With humble apologies for those who had been following the developments of the various countries, I will now resume with Try and Indonesia's story.
8th June 2002:
Security was tightened all over Indonesia as the nation’s eyes turned on Jakarta for what proved to be a dramatic day.
Though everyone thought all of the attention that day would be focused on the KPU Building and the announcement of the vote count, all of the nation’s news outlets also sent their personnel to the Presidential Palace where the President had convened a cabinet meeting at very short notice. What resulted was a split screen on Indonesian television sets; the left side showing reporters pacing about at the Presidential Palace, the right side showing Chairman of the KPU HBL Mantiri presiding at the KPU building tallying up all of the parties’ votes across the provinces.
Sitting across from Mantiri at four separate desks were chairpersons and secretaries of all of the political parties. Chairwoman of the PNI Megawati Soekarnoputri was accompanied Secretary of the PNI/Chairman of the PNI National Campaign Sutjipto. A cheerful looking Chairwoman of the PKPB Tutut Soeharto and Secretary of the PKPB ZA Maulani represented their party while Chairman of the PKPI Basofi Sudirman looked grim sitting next to Secretary of the PKPI Joyokusumo. Chairman of the PPP Matori Abdul Djalil and Secretary of the PPP Bachtiar Chamsyah both looked relieved that the process was going to be over soon. Behind these functionaries sat their parties’ most senior and loyal supporters to give moral support.
The moment everyone was waiting for came at 11.30 AM.
“Ladies and gentleman, we now arrive at the total national vote count.
Though we have over 140 million voters registered, when the invalid votes and the blank ballots are deducted, we are left with 130,280,817 valid votes. I will announce how many of these votes the political parties have obtained.”
There was silence in the room.
“With 17,197,067 ballots cast for it or 13.2% of the votes and obtaining 56 seats in the DPR: the Partai Nasional Indonesia!”
There were yells of “Merdeka! Merdeka!” from the PNI members who had been allowed into the room as Megawati stood up and nodded her head in the direction of Mantiri before turning around to tell her followers to keep quiet.
“With 22,017,458 ballots cast for it or 16.9% of the votes and obtaining 73 seats in the DPR: the Partai Persatuan Pembangunan!”
This time yells of “Allahu Akbar!” filled the room and a section of the PPP supporters broke into the “Sholawat Badar” song of praise. Matori himself was seen saying a prayer of thanks.
“With 43,774,355 ballots cast for it or 33.6% of the votes and obtaining 143 seats in the DPR: the Partai Karya Pembangunan Indonesia!”
Basofi seemed resigned to the announcement while the PKPI supporters in the room began a “Try! Try! Try!” chant that was drowned by the cheers of the PKPB supporters for this confirmed that the latter’s party had gained the most votes.
“Quiet please”, said Mantiri as he bent down to read the figures in front of him.
“With 47,291,937 ballots cast for it or 36.3% of the votes and obtaining 153 seats in the DPR: the Partai Karya Pembangunan Bangsa!”
At her table, Tutut wiped away tears of joy as the PKPB supporters made so much noise in their joy that the room looked like it was beginning to shake on the television screen. It was an amazing feat for Mantiri to get them to be silent one more time.
“The chairs of the PNI, the PPP, and the PKPI, if any of you would like to appeal this count you have a week to lodge an appeal and provide the accompanying evidence, before the election results are certified next week”, said Mantiri “Otherwise, for the moment, I declare that based on the KPU’s count, the PKPB has gained the most ballots, the most votes, and the most seats at the 2002 Election.”
Once the session was closed and the media outlets got their initial comments and reactions from elections participants and observers alike, all eyes turned to the Presidential Palace where the cabinet met.
That it was called at short notice attracted attention and the fact that ministers avoided explaining what the meeting was about when they emerged out of it was intriguing.
It fell to Minister of Legal Affairs Marzuki Darusman to explain what the meeting was seemingly about. Marzuki announced that the government has approved of a Government Regulation in Lieu of Law because the DPR is out of session at the moment. This government regulation amends certain articles within the Immigration Law.
“In article 7 of our Immigration Law, it is stipulated that visa waivers are given to whole nationalities rather than individuals”, explained Marzuki “What we want is to give visa waivers to certain individuals regardless of their nationality.”
As the ministers departed, Chairman of the DPR Harmoko was seen arriving at the Presidential Palace. His meeting was a short one for he was seen walking out some 15 minutes after he arrived. Harmoko only said to the gathered press that he discussed “certain matters” with the President but would not specify if it was about whether he will be running for re-election as chairman of the DPR or about the election results.
There were a lot of gasps when the Ambassadors of Thailand, the Philippines, Laos, and Vietnam all arrived at the Presidential Palace. They were escorted inside to their audience by Minister of Foreign Affairs Ginandjar Kartasasmita and State Secretary Edi Sudrajat. Once their audience was finished, they disappeared without any comments and it became Edi's duty to address the press.
“The ambassadors of our closest friends in the region had an audience with the President today to spoke about issues in our region”, said Edi “The President will address this when he addresses the nation tonight.”
“Will the President also be addressing the election results?” asked one member of the press.
“The President will address the nation tonight on various issues”, replied Edi before calling an end to the doorstop press conference “That will be all.”
It was a Saturday night, people flocked to the shopping centers with a sense of relief that the 2002 Elections were now out of the way. But affairs of the state would occupy their minds. At 8 PM, television screens at electronic shops began broadcasting pictures from the Presidential Palace. Not long after that, President Try Sutrisno himself appeared to stand behind the microphones. After taking his speech from his aide-de-camp, Col. Budiman, the President began to speak.
“Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.
Fellow Indonesians wherever you may be,
I come before you tonight out of a desire to highlight the importance of what our nation has completed. In holding of the 2002 Election, our nation has once again bore witness to the stability of our political system; of being sufficiently stable to hold election at regular intervals. This is an important achievement for this political stability is what has allowed us to conduct the work of economic development. I pay tribute for all those involved: the officials and vote counters at the KPU, ABRI for providing the security, all four political parties for their participation, and most importantly the 140 million voters who have participated in this process.
Of the election results, I would like to congratulate the PKPB and its chairwoman, Mrs. Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, for gaining the largest number of votes at the election. As president, I do not seek to dispute this result and hope that the PPP and the PNI.
As a PKPI member, I also will not seek to dispute the election results and call upon my fellow PKPI members to do the same.
Fellow Indonesians,
With the elections behind us, we can now look forward to the next events on our political calendar. The new DPR/MPR will be sworn in on 1st October 2002, the MPR will meet in its General Session in March 2003, and the end of the current presidential term on 11th March 2003.
I am sure that there will be a lot of questions about this last date. Whether about what will happen after the 11th March 2003 or whether or not I am interested in continuing to hold this office after 11th March 2003. I will address neither of these matters tonight. What I will address is what will happen between today and 11th March 2003.
Between now and the end of current presidential term, I renew my commitment to continue working in the interests of our nation and the interests of the people.
I will continue to enact economic policies to sustain our strong economic performance post-crisis, I will go ahead with the revocations of licenses of forest concessions which have not complied with our regulations and I will continue the work of national development; making sure that we have a chance at finishing Repelita VII strong so that we can enter Repelita VIII from an advantageous position.
And I will also make sure that when it comes to matters relating to our national security, I will continue to act in our nation’s interest.
This is why tonight, I am announcing to you that we have completed the evacuation of 30,439 men, women, and children from Myanmar; members of the Tatmadaw and their families who will be persecuted by the new regime in Rangoon had they remained in the country, the new regime whose emergence has been endorsed by a power seeking to interfere in our region.
I have taken this stance because it is important that those seeking to interfere in the internal affairs of Southeast Asian nations must be checked, they must not be allowed to feel that they can get their way in their region…”
---
At Cendana Street, Tutut Soeharto sat in a couch in the living room watching all this unfold. Chairman of the PKPB’s National Campaign Prabowo Subianto paced around.
“Talk about raining on our parade”, grumbled Tutut as she pointed to the image of the President giving a speech on the screen “Our election victory will now have to share the stage with his announcement.”
“There’s a signal in that statement, whether it be for us or the Chinese, Mbakyu”, said Prabowo “Between now and the end of his term, we can all expect him to continue putting up a fight.”
9th June 2002:
The election results in Indonesia were quickly overshadowed by President Try's announcement that Indonesia had taken in Tatmadaw personnel and their families from Myanmar, including Lt. Gen. Shwe Mann a member of the overthrown Than Shwe Regime, and were planning to integrate the men into ABRI as an auxiliary force.
It was a Sunday but statements were flowing in from governments in the region.
The statements of support were led by Vietnam with General Secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party Nong Duc Manh calling the evacuation of Shwe Mann, his men, and their families an act of “decisive regional leadership”. The Philippines’ statement said that President of the Philippines Joseph Estrada “expected nothing less from President Try”. Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra issued a low-key statement, saying that whilst he supported the steps taken by Indonesia, Thailand had not facilitated the evacuation despite being the nation immediately to Myanmar’s east. Prime Minister of Laos Bounnhang Vourachith called on Laos, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand to “band together” behind Indonesia’s leadership.
The neutrals banded together. Prime Minister of Singapore Goh Chok Tong and Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah issued a joint statement saying that their respective countries would like time to study the “ramifications of what has happened on the region”.
Indonesia’s detractors in the region did not waste any time letting their thoughts be known. The statement issued by Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak seemed bent on using the opportunity to espouse the idea, which Najib himself liked to promote, that Indonesia had “hegemonic aspirations”. Prime Minister of Cambodia Hun Sen stated that as the chair and the host of the 2002 ASEAN Summit, Cambodia has grave concerns for ASEAN in the aftermath of “Indonesia’s actions”.
Then came Myanmar’s statement, delivered personally by Chairman of the SPDC Khin Nyunt.
“As a result of the Republic of Indonesia’s open harboring of rebel and mutineering Myanmarian military officers and personnel which are hostile to the government, I announce that effective on 16th June, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar will be severing diplomatic relations with the Republic of Indonesia.
At the same time, however, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar will continue to be a member of and will not withdraw from or cease being a member of ASEAN. We will not give the Republic of Indonesia the satisfaction of a majority in ASEAN with which it could pursue its hegemonic agenda.”
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This would have been an unprecedented event in ITTL Indonesia given that it has not experienced the political turbulence of 1998: the President’s party has officially lost the legislative election and the President has refused to dispute the results. Difficult to contemplate Golkar losing under Soeharto much less imagine how he would react to it.
ITTL ASEAN oh ITTL ASEAN, what will happen to you now, the lines between a pro-Indonesian bloc, an anti-Indonesian bloc, and a neutral bloc gets clearer by the day.
2003 Presidential Election in the MPR will be interesting. This would determine whether they would vote across party lines as like Soeharto Era (almost impossible unless backroom deals on parties) or they just vote on party lines (more plausible outcome). This would also make Try dependent on PPP.
With Orba looking good, I think incentives on making the presidential elections direct (as OTL) is pretty low.
With Orba looking good, I think incentives on making the presidential elections direct (as OTL) is pretty low.
For me, the way the evac was announced, would place everyone inside Indonesia who does not agree, as agents of "those seeking to interfere in the internal affairs of Southeast Asian nations". Doubt the PKPB wants a pro-chinese label.
Also, the fact Mann evac included women and children, would place Try as a defender of human rights, perhaps opening more doors?
Also, the fact Mann evac included women and children, would place Try as a defender of human rights, perhaps opening more doors?
In 1997 the military and police had 100 votes in MPR. In 1999 they had 38. Try just needs 10.
Please don’t…we’ll be here forever😆
There will be a nation who will become worried as a result of Shwe Mann and Co. arriving in Indonesia.
Tutut’s reaction is going to be in the next chapter. She won’t enjoy it.
At this stage, ABRI is on 75 seats in the DPR, 113 seats in the MPR. For sure will go into how seats in the DPR translate into seats in the MPR as we get closer to the MPR Session.
This is an interesting comment and I’d like to get the readers’ thought on this. If any of you readers somehow found yourselves teleported into ITTL Indonesia, would you characterize Try’s regime as a continuation of the New Order (what Soeharto named his regime) or something else?
But yes you are correct, at the moment in ITTL, there is little incentive for the political changes we saw OTL.
For we Chinese New Order's main effect felt was the heavy handed efforts to assimilate us. With that gone, we'd just draw comparisons to Malaysian 'democracy' where Chinese are STILL official second class citizens while we no longer are officially. To sum up, if this election doesn't end up in an auto-coup, this will be the New 'New Order'.
Yup, Try's regime is definitely a continuation of the New Order. And that's not necessarily a bad thing(i mean by naming itself an era called THE "Chad" NEW ORDER are way better than the virgin Reformation), as long it's focused on what it stand for in the early days like stability, economic growth, and all that good stuff.
But forget about all that, I'm just here thinking what's gonna happen when my boy Edi Sudrajat die in Try's second term 😖😭