As Indonesia marks 25 years since Reformasi, is democracy unravelling under Jokowi?
- Democracy has ‘deteriorated markedly’ during Joko Widodo’s presidency, observers say, capped by new laws stifling dissent and freedom of expression
- The influence of a Suharto-era old guard has also remained strong, which some say now threatens the future of Indonesia’s politics
Maria Catarina Sumarsih’s world crumbled on November 13, 1998, when she received news that Indonesian soldiers had killed her son on his university campus, nearly six months after the end of a 32-year dictatorship ushered in a period of democratic reform.
Sumarsih’s son, Bernardus Realino Norma Irawan, 20, had been part of a nationwide student-led movement protesting against a special session of the Indonesian parliament, the first assembly held in the country after military strongman Suharto resigned as president in May 1998.
Bernadus, also known as Wawan, had joined other student protesters in the grounds of Atma Jaya University in Jakarta, as they voiced their distrust of Suharto’s successor BJ Habibie and called for an end to the military’s non-elected representation in parliament.
Armed soldiers fired in response, killing 17 people – including Wawan – and wounding more than 400 others in a riot that became known as the Semanggi I tragedy. Four students from Trisakti University had died during a demonstration six months earlier demanding Suharto quit.
The Reformasi movement had six goals, including bringing Suharto and his cronies to court, amending the 1945 constitution, widening regional autonomy, removing the dual functions of the Indonesian Armed Forces, eradicating corruption and enforcing the rule of law.
