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Ex-presidents absent from Independence Day ceremony
Proud colors: Anisa Fatharani, a student of state senior high school SMAN 8 Jakarta (center), bears the flag to be raised during the official ceremony for Indonesia’s 64th Independence Day at the State Palace, Jakarta, on Monday
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span class="inline inline-center">Proud colors: Anisa Fatharani, a student of state senior high school SMAN 8 Jakarta (center), bears the flag to be raised during the official ceremony for Indonesia’s 64th Independence Day at the State Palace, Jakarta, on Monday. (JP/R. Berto Wedhatama)
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono led Monday morning the official ceremony for Indonesia’s 64th Independence Day at the Merdeka State Palace — without the presence of a single one of his predecessors.
Former president Abdurahman “Gus Dur” Wahid attended last year’s ceremony. This year, however, he was unable to make it because of health problems, State Secretary Hatta Radjasa said.
Hatta said the other two living former presidents, Bacharuddin Jusuf “BJ” Habibie and Megawati Soekarnoputri, had both been invited, but neither attended.
“Habibie is in Germany, Gus Dur is sick, Ibu Mega…Pak Taufiq Kiemas [Megawati’s husband] said Insha Allah [God Willing] he would try to make it here,” Hatta said before the flag-raising ceremony.
Taufiq, however, instead accompanied his wife to a separate Independence Day ceremony near their private residence in South Jakarta.
This makes 2009 the fifth year in a row Megawati has not attended the ceremony, a habit which began after she was defeated by Yudhoyono in the 2004 presidential election.
Hatta said the Palace had likewise invited former vice presidential candidates — Army Gen. (ret.) Prabowo Subianto and retired military chief Gen. Wiranto — to the ceremony, but neither came.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla and vice president-elect Boediono attended.
The absence of the former presidents has drawn criticism from observers, who say their attitude shows their lack of support not only for the incumbent government but for the entire nation.
“I believe that political elites must learn to keep their personal differences apart from their responsibilities as statesmen. These hard days, when the nation has been ripped apart by terrorism, should have served as a wake up call for the elite to unite,” University of Indonesia political expert Rocky Gerung told The Jakarta Post.
“If only Megawati attended this year’s ceremony, she would have received a grand political applause from the public. It is a shame that she again opted not to attend. Habibie should have also attended this year’s ceremony rather than going to Germany,” he added.
Across the country, celebrations for Independence Day generally ran well; many people took part in private celebrations and or joined games and contests in their neighborhoods.
On Malalayang Beach in Manado, North Sulawesi, over 2,800 divers participated in an underwater ceremony to mark Independence Day, in an attempt to make it into the Guiness Book of Records.
In Ambon, local police questioned a high-school student for wearing a shirt that read “Republic of South Maluku”, and in Jayapura, where an unknown group, believed to be members of the Independent Papua Movement, raised the outlawed Morning Star flag.
Indonesian Military Chief Gen. Djoko Santoso said the military, together with the police, would take legal action against any separatist activities. (hdt)
