Andrew Marshall. jakarta – Church leaders representing more than 10 million Indonesian Protestants have added their voice to the growing chorus of demands for reform of the country's political system and pledged support for student protesters.
"Reform is a must right now," Joseph Marcus Pattiasina, general secretary of the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI), told Reuters on Friday. "We urge every party in this country to support reform."
Pattiasina said the PGI represented 10 to 15 million Protestants – more than five percent of the mainly Moslem nation's population of 200 million.
He was speaking after the PGI issued a statement attacking "unlawful disappearances and kidnappings of pro-democracy activists" and urging support for Indonesia's reform movement.
"The Communion of Churches in Indonesia supports the reform movement that is being voiced by students and other groups in the society, and encourages all members of society to actively support this movement," the statement said.
"Efforts for economic, political and legal reform, which will lead to a more just, democratic and participatory social and political system as well as a more transparent government administrative mechanism should be supported."
The government of President Suharto and the army say they support gradual reform. Harmoko, parliamentary speaker and chairman of the ruling Golkar party, said earlier this week that parliament would act quickly to reform political laws.
Armed forces commander General Wiranto told a news conference on Thursday the demands of protesting students were being met and they should now end the demonstrations which have occurred almost daily in Indonesia for three months.
Protests have at times become violent, as in the Sumatran city of Medan this week when price rises sparked three days of rioting.
"At the present moment, various parties such as the armed forces, students, scholars and political organisations have essentially agreed on reforms," Wiranto said.
Suharto has been quoted as saying he favoured reform. On Saturday, two government ministers said the 76-year-old president was ready for an immediate debate on political reform, including a shift to a constituency-based system to replace proportional representation.
Their remarks clarified an earlier statement attributed to Suharto that reforms could not be implemented until 2003.
But student protests against Suharto's 32-year rule have persisted, and a leading Moslem intellectual group said on Wednesday government promises of some reforms were "vague, too little and too late."
"What began as a monetary crisis has since turned into economic and political crisis. But all these crises are rooted in a crisis of moral character, or the failure of those who should have been role models in society," the Association of Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI) said.
The ICMI is nominally headed by Vice President Jusuf Habibie, but he gave up control of the organisation when he was elected in March and is seen as staunchly loyal to Suharto.
In an editorial on Friday, the Jakarta Post said ICMI's statement would bolster the momentum for reform.
"ICMI's joining the people in calling for total reform has a strong influence on the country's movement toward multidimensional change," it said.
"It should also convince any waverers among publicly aware citizens that the movement for reform has reached a point of no return since so many people have jumped on the bandwagon."
Indonesia's president is elected by the mostly hand-picked People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) and not by direct election. The MPR elected Suharto to a seventh five-year term in March.
The Jakarta Post said many Indonesians believed that gradual change would be too late to solve the country's problems.
"The people who are now advocating reform believe that change should take place now or it will be too late to make any difference," it said.
"Many also understand that covert proposals for reform, as announced by the government last week, will act as a symptomatic painkiller but will not cure the national disease."