Louise Williams, Sanur – Tens of thousands of people descended on a dusty field in the tourist island of Bali yesterday as Indonesia's pro-democracy figurehead, Megawati Soekarnoputri, launched her bid for the presidency from a makeshift stage.
The Indonesian election campaign is still months away but Bali's tourist strip of Sanur was a sea of red, the colour of Megawati's Partai Demokrasi Indonesia (PDI), as thousands more supporters lined the streets, closed in honour of her arrival.
Some had travelled for four days and nights, sleeping on boats and in buses, to show their support for the daughter of Indonesia's founding president, Soekarno, who is herself fast becoming a personality cult in the harsh, hungry times of Indonesia's economic collapse. "Mega-mania", "Mega for President", "Mega-Trend", "Mega-Fanatic", read the banners which have adorned cars, shops, taxis and even Bali's fishing boats in the lead-up to the rally. "We have been repressed politically for more than 30 years – this is the beginning of the awakening," said one supporter of the political restrictions of former president Soeharto's 32 years in power.
Tourist resorts along Sanur beach, near the rally site, barricaded their driveways and advised foreigners to avoid rowdy crowds. A handful of tourists, caught out by the road closures, were seen lugging bags and surfboards along the roads with thousands of energetic, cheering "Mega" supporters. Two years ago, Megawati was banned from politics by the Government of the then President Soeharto, the man who had toppled her father three decades earlier.
Technically, her PDI is not recognised by the Habibie Government and military officials had tried to force her to change the venue, fearing the massive crowds could trigger violence on Indonesia's premier tourist island. A special session of Parliament next month will redraft Indonesia's political rules to make way for democratic elections next year, but Megawati chose not to wait for the formal restoration of her party's political rights to open its national Congress in Sanur yesterday.
"Mega is already too big for the Government to stop her," shouted one of the hundreds of PDI security officers controlling the crowds. "If anyone tries to block us, we will fight."
"If anyone tries to create anarchy, make sure it is not PDI supporters," Megawati announced, as a human barricade, dressed in traditional Balinese sarongs and jackets, held back the sea of supporters. Her voice faltered with emotion as she addressed the crowd, twice coming close to tears as she spoke of the poverty which has gripped Indonesia since the economic crisis began more than a year ago. "I ask the [Habibie] Government to tell the people what the real condition of the economy is, what is the real food situation for the poor, and who is responsible for this crisis," she said, as the crowd roared "Soeharto, Soeharto".
Megawati did not mention Soeharto by name, but said former officials of his government should be held accountable for the excesses of Soeharto's rule. "If the people give us their trust to form a government following the next election, then whoever had broken the law will be prosecuted, no matter who they are," she said. Megawati is particularly popular in Bali, where resentment was fuelled by the prominent role of the Soeharto children and his cronies in the development of tourist resorts. Many tourist developments forced rural communities off their land, and alienated Bali's predominantly Hindu people from some of their sacred religious sites, such as the famous temple at Tanah Lot.
Megawati told the crowd not to fear foreign investment, in an apparent signal to the scores of foreign diplomats in the audience that a PDI-led government would not turn back to her father's ruinous policies of nationalism and economic isolation, but maintain a open market economy.