Rough Start for Indonesia Leader

Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid has had a rotten first 100 days in office. His country, impoverished by years of economic decline, is now being racked by separatist unrest and religious violence. Wahid, a moderate Muslim who has earned broad support at home and respect abroad, vows to take stern measures against civil unrest of all kind. To prevent the disintegration of Indonesia, he must do just that.

But regional tensions must be resolved, not suppressed. To that end, the powerful and ruthless military, a root source of Indonesia’s problems since independence in 1950, has to be put under firm government control.

The separatist movement in Aceh, on the island of Sumatra, and the fighting between Muslims and Christians on the Spice Islands in eastern Indonesia are the high price the country is paying for decades of Suharto’s corrupt dictatorship. Military repression, not civilian rule, was the tool he used to keep Indonesia--a country of nearly 300 ethnic groups spread over thousands of islands--from falling apart. Suharto left behind resentment and a mountain of grievances.

Wahid’s election as president last October gave the archipelago fresh hope, but it also diminished the fear of authority, encouraging religious and secessionist violence. Wahid has repeatedly called for communal tolerance. His government must make this the cornerstone of its domestic policy.

But neither Indonesia’s Dutch colonizers nor its first post-independence rulers left Wahid with a system of civil institutions on which he could build. He has to start from scratch, and that is a daunting task, particularly for a man in guarded health.

On the military front, Wahid has acted shrewdly, firing defiant Maj. Gen. Sudrajat, who was calling for martial law in Aceh. The discredited army was put under the control of navy and air force commanders friendly to the government. This will help the president chip away at the power of the army and consolidate the authority of his government. In the long term, devolving power to the provinces will undermine the power of the armed forces. Wahid made a small step in that direction Thursday, promising in his budget to send more money to outlying areas.

Washington should reward Wahid’s every step toward political and economic reforms not only by increasing aid but also restructuring onerous debt from the past and extending new credit. The world powers should give him all the help he needs.