Louise Williams – Inside Indonesia's imposing Parliament building the remnants of former President Soeharto's political elite were preparing to sign their own political death certificates as tens of thousands of protesting students outside bayed for their blood against lines of riot police.
When massive student demonstrations and riots forced Soeharto to step down six months ago, he handed over to close friend then vice-president Dr B.J.Habibie. Mr Soeharto's 1,000-member People's Consultative Assembly was then charged with dismantling his authoritarian political system at a four-day "extra-ordinary session" this week to make way for democratic elections next year.
Inside the committee rooms Mr Soeharto's former political allies were preparing significant changes to Indonesia's political laws, including the scrapping of the emergency powers Mr Soeharto bestowed upon himself, an end to subversion laws used against his political opponents, the phasing out of the armed forces' dominant role in politics, the redistribution of wealth, and even a decree on corruption which could see the former president tried for abusing political power for the economic gain of his family and friends.
As protests on the street grew bigger and more violent every day, Mr Soeharto's old friends from his dominant Golkar group, which ruled Indonesia for 32 years, were attempting to re-invent themselves as "reformists". By Thursday night students were battling with riot police only hundreds of metres from the Parliament gates, 120 people had been injured, one student and one police officer had been beaten to death and several students had been shot and seriously injured.
Significantly, thousands of ordinary people joined the students on the streets in the pouring rain, attacking riot troops with rocks as tear gas filled the narrow lanes of their working-class suburb.
Much of the students' anger is focused on the legitimacy of the assembly itself: how is it that a body formed under Mr Soeharto, and with no democratic right to rule, is entrusted with Indonesia's political future? Mr Soeharto's children and other clearly nepotistic and corrupt appointees were replaced ahead of the session, but essentially the assembly remains a remnant of the Soeharto regime. More specifically, students are seeking an immediate end to the role of the armed forces in politics and a decree which will force Dr Habibie to prosecute his former political mentor for corruption. Ultimately, though, the students are challenging the legitimacy of Dr Habibie and hope, through their return to the streets, to force his Government to give way to an opposition coalition, just as they led the protests against Mr Soeharto in May. Dr Habibie defiantly announced he would stay in power until December 1999 under a timetable to be set by the assembly, which schedules national elections for May or June and presidential elections for December next year.
His insistence follows public calls by key opposition leaders for an accelerated presidential election, and there has been a blizzard of rumours that ambitious politicians or military officers plan to use the student protests to bring Dr Habibie down.
However, in a statement televised nationwide, the Armed Forces commander, General Wiranto, warned that the "military and the people" would take "stern" measures against those attempting to break the law – a reference to the students.
By yesterday it seemed clear that the "extraordinary session" would fail to meet the students' demands and that the signing of Indonesia's new political principles scheduled for early this morning Australian time could mark the beginning of a new phase of political protests, rather than defusing political tensions.
Within the assembly, the dominant Golkar group was this week moving fast to distance itself from Mr Soeharto and his policies. Just ahead of the session, the respected Human Rights Commissioner and former Soeharto critic, Mr Marzuki Darusman, was conscripted to lead the faction in an attempt to project a new, clean image.
Reacting to pressure from opposition politicians and student protests, Mr Marzuki, announced that Mr Soeharto may be named in the decree on corruption and that armed forces was no longer a "permanent" fixture in Indonesian politics, but would be phased out.
Earlier this week four key opposition leaders – the pro-democracy figurehead Ms Megawati Sukarnoputri, the leader of the largest Islamic organisation, Mr Adburrahman Wahid, the former head of the second-largest Islamic organisation, Mr Amien Rais, and the Governor of Yogyakarta, Sultan Hamengkubuwono X – issued a list of demands for the "extraordinary session". These included a limit to the military's role, Mr Soeharto's accountability for corruption and presidential elections three months ahead of schedule. The assembly accepted all points except one - the rescheduling of the election.
Mr Rais earlier argued that if the assembly failed because of massive demonstrations chaos would ensue. The group of four argued that the only legitimate means of removing Dr Habibie from power was the holding of democratic elections.
Like the Golkar hopefuls inside the Parliament building, the opposition outside was effectively setting the stage for its own election campaigns next year and has no stake in encouraging the students.
Of the 1,000 members of assembly 575 were appointed under Mr Soeharto and the remaining 425 elected in polls manipulated to favour the ruling Golkar group. In democratic elections parties banned from participation under Mr Soeharto, such as Ms Megawati, are expected to sweep the polls.
"By passing the decrees they are signing their own political death certificates – they know that," said Mr Andi Mallerangang, one of the members of the team drafting the new political legislation. "We are entering coalition politics, that is for certain," said Mr Marzuki, acknowledging the formal end of Mr Soeharto's political system and the turbulent power struggle that lies ahead.