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Megawati-Military Cooperation Will Not Last
August 17, 2001

Summary
Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri recently named the members of her first Cabinet, whose political differences will render the panel divided and ineffective. As a result, it is actually Megawati and the Indonesian military that will run the nation. There will be a brief honeymoon period before the interests of the president and those of the military diverge.

President Megawati Sukarnoputri, right, presents the national flag to an unidentified flag bearer during celebrations of the 56th anniversary of Indonesia's independence at the presidential palace in Jakarta Friday, Aug. 17, 2001. Fifty-six years after Indonesia's founding leader proclaimed an end to colonial rule, his daughter and the nation's fifth president, Megawati Sukarnoputri, Friday received the old independence flag in an emotional ceremony at the former colonial governor's palace.
Photo by Charles Dharapak (AP)

Analysis
New Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri's Cabinet of "national unity," announced Aug. 9, comprises a broad group of representatives of political parties and affiliations. The appointments essentially constitute payback to political factions that aided her ascension to the presidency.

But their diversity of political beliefs will render Cabinet members incapable of working as a cohesive group. As a result, Megawati and the Indonesian military will retain actual power to run the country.

Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri waves to school children after leading the country's 56th independence anniversary celebrations at the presidential palace in Jakarta August 17, 2001, while her husband Taufik Kiemas accompanies her. It was Megawati's late father, Sukarno, who led the country from independence in 1945 until he was effectively pushed from office in 1965. Friday's celebration was shunned by the three living ex-presidents.
REUTERS/Enny Nuraheni (Reuters)

(The Rest of the Story)
(c) 2001 Stratfor, Inc.

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