A document believed to have been drafted by Kopassus, the crack forces unit commander by Major-General Prabowo, son-in-law of Suharto, is circulating among the mass media. It calls for an anti-Chinese and IMF campaign and accuses the Chinese conglomerates of engineering the current monetary crisis and of giving funds to the PRD.
The document alleges that there is close collaboration between the Jimbaran Group (see below) and the PRD, along with allegations that the PRD manufactured the bomb that exploded prematurely last week in Tanah Tinggi, Jakarta. The document claims that an activist who is acting as the go-between between the Jimbaran Group and the PRD sent a letter to the PRD saying that the CSIS is willing to support the PRD with cash.
The Kopassus document, which was drafted by Prabowo, commander of the special unit, has already been followed through by journals which support the status quo such as the weekly GATRA and the fortnightly Forum Keadilan. It is believed that the campaign will be the cover story in this week's issues of the two journals, just as the fasting month end and everyone is celebrating the Lebaran festival.
Sofyan Wanandi, spokesperson for the Jimbaran Group who is also close to the CSIS, is due to be questioned by the police about the reports of money for the PRD. He has said he is ready to appear before the police. Prabowo is said to be increasingly angry with Wanandi because he has refused to take part in the "love-rupiah" campaign and has categorically refused to sell dollars. [Sofyan Wanandi owns his own huge business empire called Gemala with a lot of investments in the US. He is pushing for a better-regulated capitalist system in Indonesia which puts him in conflict with the Suharto family interests.]
There are already signs that efforts to transform the monetary crisis into an anti-Chinese campaign are being reflected on the streets. Some Muslim groups have organised protests against the IMF accusing it of being an infidel. A secret meeting was also held by Suharto's foster-brother Probosutedjo to promote this campaign.
"They want to redirect public anger towards blaming the Chinese conglomerates for the crisis," said one person who attended the meeting. Meanwhile attempts are being made to get the support of some Muslim leaders to take part in the "love the rupiah" campaign by selling dollars and contributing gold.
If this campaign succeeds, the Chinese will become the target for being responsible for the crisis, in this way distracting attention from the true cause of the crisis, the greed of the Suharto family, collusion, corruption and nepotism. TAPOL adds:
Republika, the newspaper of ICMI and Habibie, carried a lengthy report Saturday, alleging "political manipulations" behind the collapse of the rupiah, and pointing the finger at "conglomerates', a buzz word for Chinese business. A number of Muslim personalities were quoted as supporting these accusations.
The report also strongly supported Habibie as the candidate for the vice-persident, arguing that his hi-tech qualifications were crucial to Indonesia's future.