Army, students have major roles in Suharto succession

Suharto

May 20, 1998
Web posted at: 7:18 p.m. EDT (2318 GMT)

(CNN) -- If Indonesian President Suharto leaves office, Vice President Jusuf Habibie would take power and serve the remainder of his five-year term, according to Article 8 of Indonesia's Constitution.

Few analysts think the transition will be so orderly in the long term.

The fate of both Indonesian presidents since independence from Dutch colonial rule depended on the backing of the military, Indonesia's most powerful institution. A contending force, the nation's university elites, are honored by the general population for their long leadership of Indonesian nationalism.

The students and the military are currently in disagreement about the nation's future and who will lead it as president.

Suharto's other possible successors include:

• National Assembly Speaker Harmoko made himself something of a candidate for the presidency by calling Wednesday for Suharto's resignation by Friday, with the attendent threat that he will begin impeachment proceedings on Monday.

• Gen. Wiranto, commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Wiranto has said that the army supports comprehensive political and economic reforms. Presumably, he also put tanks and barbed wire between the students and the presidential palace -- while allowing the protesters free reign on the grounds of Parliament. The army remains the most powerful institution in the country.

• Suharto's son-in-law, Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto commands the army's Kostrand strategic forces near Jakarta. Analysts say Prabowo is ambitious, and, unlike Wiranto, he has military experience fighting insurgents in East Timor.

• Opposition leader Amien Rais heads a Muslim group with 28 million members. Rais has been increasingly vocal in calling for Suharto's ouster. He supported popular protests, but called on students to back away from confrontations with the military on Wednesday, the anniversary of National Awakening Day, an independence celebration. Students avoided confronting the army, but it is not clear whether Rais' remarks caused that to happen.

• Leading dissident Megawati Sukarnoputri, is the daughter of Indonesia's first leader, President Sukarno. He was ousted from power during a Communist-vs.-military confrontation in 1967. The current president, Suharto, became president then because he was acceptable to the military and the country's young non-Communist democratic movement. Suharto's government considers Megawati a threat to its power and orchestrated her ouster from the leadership of the minority Indonesian Democratic Party two years ago. She has maintained a low profile until the recent demonstrations but announced her support for Parliament's move to oust Suharto.

Message board:

• Indonesia unrest

Related stories:

• Speaker gives Suharto until Friday to resign - May 20, 1998
• Indonesian opposition leader tries to call off protest - May 19, 1998
• Suharto to quit, but when? - May 19, 1998
• Suharto pledges reform, new elections - May 19, 1998
• Military backs Suharto's plan to shuffle Cabinet - May 18, 1998

Related sites:

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• Indonesia Internet Information Center - starting point for information about Indonesia
• DKI Jakarta - official Web site of the capital city of the Republic of Indonesia
• Indonesia Times Online - English language daily.
• Indonesia - AsianNet

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

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