Indonesia - Suharto politics - Research Paper Example

3). This started in central Java when he involved himself in many enterprises that were very profitable thus helping in the funding of the poor military forces. This business with Islamic therefore strengthened his relationship with the Muslims thus making it easier for him to from alliances with them. Indonesia is also highly populated by Muslims who were looking for ways of making Indonesia a Muslim republic. Reasons Why Indonesians Mainly Opposed Communists Communism was strongly opposed by Indonesians because a military propaganda convinced international and Indonesian audiences that an abortive coup scheduled for September 30th, 1969 was coup organized by the communists.

It was also reported that the murders and atrocities committed against many Indonesians were targeted at Indonesian heroes. The army led a campaign to destroy Indonesian society and communist party. In some parts of the country, the army organized religious, militia and civilian groups where communist vigilantes defeated the army, killing approximately half a million people. Consequently, Indonesian Communist Party was eliminated by political Islam and the military. Key Experiences that Shaped Suharto’s Politics Suharto had served in key military positions during the reign of Sukarno.

On February 1966, he was appointed lieutenant General by the president. On the other hand, the March 1966 Supers mar decree transformed most of Sukarno’s power to Suharto giving him permission to do whatever he found necessary in order to restore peace ( Elson, 2001, p. 8). Elson further assesses that he also served in the Indonesian security forces that wee against Japanese here, he rose become the Major General when Indonesia gained independence. This gave him enough experience that shaped his political life.

New Order Implemented under Suharto The new order implemented under Suharto was the building of a very powerful institution in the presidency of Indonesia. Therefore, Suharto isolated his rivals from the ruling elite and army and rewarded his loyalties with patronage. The new order aimed at achieving economic development, political order, and ending mass participation in political processes. The new order was featured in a weak society, corporatization and bureaucratization of societal and political organizations, with effective and selective opponents’ repression.

Suharto’s order ensured a government that was authoritarian and military dominated. The order established two intelligence agencies; State Intelligence Coordination Agency and Operational Command for the Restoration of Security and Order for maintenance of domestic order. Position of Islamist Parties Muslim parties’ position was justice, democracy and gender equality. They encouraged female activists. These parties were more democratic and moderate than the other political parties. They radically criticized the position of Americans towards Muslims through peaceful demonstrations.

They also sought to recover the Muslim identity both in the social and political arenas. State of Economy Inherited by Suharto and his Key Reforms Suharto inherited a nearly-collapsed economy from Surkano due to social breakdown and political conflicts during Surkano’s reign (Miller, 2008, p. 5). However, Suharto revived the economy by controlling the 1965-68 hyper-inflation. Miller (2008,