Jakarta – Indonesian President B.J. Habibie came under scathing criticism at the national assembly Friday as his bid for a new mandate triggered a second day of violent protests in the capital.
With five days to go before the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) was to pick a new president, parliamentary factions took turns declaring their views on Habibie's past record after security forces drove protesters from the area.
The exercise, part of an indirect presidential election process, came a day after the former vice president delivered a speech defending his performance after 17 months leading the world's fourth most populous nation.
Habibie, a 63-year-old engineer, was catapulted to power following the May 1998 resignation of veteran ruler Suharto, his political benefactor.
On national television late Friday, speakers from parliamentary factions took turns commenting bluntly on Habibie's handling of the economy, political system, East Timor and separatist tensions as he listened and took notes from a red-upholstered armchair.
Earlier Friday, anti-riot personnel employed tear gas and clubs to beat back rock-throwing protestors in avenues and alleys near parliament ahead of the evening visit by Habibie.
The angry crowd that numbered some 1,000 in the morning gradually swelled to between 2,000 and 5,000, according to various estimates, by late afternoon.
At least three security personnel and scores of students and civilians were injured in the violence. Shortly before dusk, thick moving columns of anti-riot troops, firing teargas on their way, had finally cleared the area of demonstrators.
Inside parliament itself, political factions in the 700-member assembly spent the day deliberating their own verdicts on Habibie before their representatives took turns speaking in his presence.
Under Indonesia's unique political system, a rejection could undermine Habibie's chances when the MPR selects the president Wednesday. In the assembly late into the night, Habibie took notes as the factions took him to task for his policies.
Said Muhaimin Iskandar of the National Awakening Party of Habibie's East Timor policies: "The president has never had initial consultation with the highest assembly ... never consulted with the people of East Timor." He said the policy had resulted in "tragedies ... exodus, acts of killings, scorched earth and the possibility of a civil war."
Julvan Lindan of Megawati's PDIP faction lambasted him mercilessly, saying Habibie had "shamelessly" claimed credit for reforms pushed through by the students and the people. "PDIP states that it rejects the speech of accountability of President B.J. Habibie," he said.
The crucial response by Habibie's own Golkar party, read by Priyo Budi Santoso, was muted and seen by some as fence-straddling. "The presence of the president [at the session] ...proves that the spirit of reforms has entered the state's highest institution," Santoso said.
But he queried Habibie on crucial issues, including the Bank Bali scandal, Habibie's decision to offer the independence option to East Timor, his decision to halt a graft inquiry on former president Suharto and on the weak upholding of human rights.
"The Golkar Party faction is of the opinion that the [Bank Bali] case is basically only one of the complex problems related to the implementation of the bank recapitalisation and restructuring agenda."
"One of the roots of the problems that have triggered the social crisis and the crisis of confidence is that the supremacy of the law ... has yet to be upheld," the Golkar representative said. "A crisis of confidence on the law ... and contempt for human rights continues to be felt by the people," he said.