Editing Fall of Suharto (section)

== Historical background ==

=== Dissent during the New Order ===

Having consolidated power in 1967 in the aftermath of the [[Indonesian killings of 1965-66|attempted coup in 1965]] which was launched by middle-ranking officers in the Indonesian army and air force but officially blamed on the [[Communist Party of Indonesia]] (PKI) resulting in purges, the government of Suharto adopted policies that severely restricted [[civil liberties]] and instituted a system of rule that effectively split power between the [[Golkar]] organisation and the military.{{sfn|Mackie|MacIntyre|1994|pp=10–13}}

In 1970, price rises and corruption prompted student protests and an investigation by a government commission.{{sfn|Mackie|MacIntyre|1994|pp=125–126}} Suharto responded by banning student protest, forcing the activists underground. Only token prosecution of cases recommended by the commission was pursued. The pattern of co-opting a few of his more powerful opponents while criminalising the rest became a hallmark of Suharto's rule.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}

Suharto stood for election by the People’s Consultative Assembly every five years, beginning in 1973. According to his electoral rules, three entities were allowed to participate in the election: two political parties and [[Golkar]]. All other political parties were amalgamated into either the Islam-based [[United Development Party]] (PPP) or the nationalist [[Indonesian Democratic Party|Democratic Party of Indonesia]] (PDI). Golkar, Suharto's primary political vehicle, was officially not a political party. All senior civil servants were obliged to join employee associations linked to Golkar, while senior bureaucrats were banned from joining political parties. In a political compromise with the powerful military, Suharto banned its members from voting in elections but set aside seats in the legislature for their representatives. Suharto was unopposed in every election in which he stood (being 1973, 1978, 1983, 1988, 1993, and 1998).{{sfn|Friend|2003|p=35}}{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=24}}{{sfn|McDonald|1980|p=20}}

In May 1980, a group called the [[Petition of Fifty]] (''Petisi 50'') demanded greater political freedoms and accused Suharto of misinterpreting the [[Pancasila (politics)|Pancasila]] state ideology. It was signed by former military men, politicians, academics and students. The Indonesian media suppressed the news, and the government placed restrictions on the signatories, some of whom were later jailed.{{sfn|Ricklefs| 2008| pp=483–492}}

Following the end to the Cold War, Western concern over communism waned, and Suharto's human rights record came under greater international scrutiny. In 1991, the murder of East Timorese civilians in a [[Dili]] cemetery, also known as the [[Santa Cruz massacre|"Santa Cruz Massacre"]], caused US attention to focus on its military relations with the Suharto regime and the question of Indonesia's occupation of East Timor. In 1992, this attention resulted in the [[Congress of the United States]] passing limitations on [[IMET]] assistance to the Indonesian military, over the objections of US President [[George H. W. Bush]]. In 1993, under President [[Bill Clinton]], the US delegation to the [[United Nations Human Rights Commission]] helped pass a resolution expressing deep concern over Indonesian human rights violations in East Timor.

=== The first cracks emerge ===

{{See also|27 July 1996 incident}}

In 1996, the [[Indonesian Democratic Party]] (PDI), a legal party that had been used by the New Order as a benign prop for the New Order's electoral system, began to assert its independence under [[Megawati Sukarnoputri]], the daughter of Indonesia's founding father, [[Sukarno]]. In response, Suharto attempted to foster a split over the leadership of the PDI, backing a co-opted faction loyal to deputy speaker of Parliament [[Suryadi (politician)|Suryadi]] against supporters of Megawati. After the Suryadi faction announced a party congress to sack Megawati would be held in [[Medan]] on 20–22 June, Megawati proclaimed that her supporters would hold demonstrations in protest. The Suryadi faction went through with the sacking, and the demonstrations manifested themselves throughout Indonesia.{{sfn|Ricklefs|2008| pp = 518–519}}

Megawati's supporters then [[27 July 1996 incident|took over the PDI headquarters in Jakarta]]. On Saturday 27 July, a mob including soldiers in civilian clothing and thugs from the army-associated [[Pemuda Pancasila]] organization forcibly entered the building. According to the [[National Commission on Human Rights (Indonesia)|National Human Rights Commission]], five people were killed, 149 injured and 74 missing – mostly from those arrested by the military. The attack was followed by two days of rioting, in which youths burned at least six buildings, including that of the Ministry of Agriculture.{{sfn|Friend|2003| pp = 226–230}}{{sfn|Adidarma|Saptono|1997|p=xiv}} The political tensions in Jakarta were accompanied by anti-Chinese riots in [[Situbondo]] (1996), [[Tasikmalaya]] (1996), [[Banjarmasin]] (1997), and [[Makassar]] (1997); while violent ethnic clashes broke out between the [[Dayak people|Dayak]] and [[Madurese people|Madurese]] settlers in [[Central Kalimantan]] in 1997.{{sfn|Elson|2001| p = 267}}