Post-Suharto: 1998–Present

1998 22 May: President Habibie pledges to dedicate himself to democ- ratization; a Development Reform Cabinet (Kabinet Reformasi Pembangu- nan) announced.

23 May: Prabowo Subianto replaced as head of Kostrad; army removes students from Parliament building. 25 May: Habibie promises early elections and frees political prisoners Muchtar Pakpahan and Sri Bintang Pa- mungkas. 28 May: Government takes over Bank Central Asia. 30 May: IMF relaxes deadlines for austerity measures. 2 July: Hundreds of Papuan tribesmen raise “Free Papua” flag in Biak. 6 July: Indonesian marines kill Free Papua supporters. August: Indonesia withdraws 1,000 troops from East Timor, but other forces replace them. 4–5 August: Portugal and In- donesia agree to discuss autonomy plan for East Timor. September: Gov- ernment proposes electoral reforms. 6 October: Tempo relaunched. 8–10

October: Partai Demokrasi Indonesia (PDI) congress held in Bali. 10–13 November: Parliament meets to establish legal framework for reform. 13 November: Student demonstrations result in at least 16 deaths. 22 No- vember: At least 14 Christians killed by Muslims in Ketapang, Jakarta. 4

December: Habibie sacks Pertamina’s president. 1999 19 January: Street brawl in Ambon sparks religious violence lead-

ing to hundreds of deaths. 27 January: Habibie proposes independence for East Timorese if they don’t accept autonomy. 27 February–3 March: Government closes 38 of Indonesia’s sickest banks and nationalizes seven others. 4 March: Government announces 48 political parties qualified to contest elections. Mid-March: Dayak anti-Madurese violence kills 165 by

24 March. 1 April: Police made independent of armed forces; ABRI re- named Tentera Nasional Indonesia (TNI). 17 April: Prointegration militias crack down on independence supporters in East Timor. 23 April: Parlia- ment approves law on intergovernmental fiscal relations, diverting funds to regions. 3 May: Military in Aceh kills 45 civilians. 10 May: Golkar formally nominates Habibie as its presidential candidate. May: Wiranto announces staged return to pre-1980s 17 Kodam from current 11 Kodam. 15 May: Kodam XVI Pattimura (Maluku) established. 7 June: Nationwide elections held. 21 June: Formal announcement of election results. 23 July: Army kills more than 50 people in Aceh. 31 July: Bank Mandiri (encom- passing Banks Dagang Nagara, Bumi Daya, Exim, and Bapindo) opens. 8 August: Vote on independence scheduled for East Timor. 9 August: In Par- liament, “Central Axis” group nominates Abdurrachman Wahid for presi-

CHRONOLOGY • lix dent. 18–20 August: Intervillage fighting begins in northern Halmahera.

30 August: East Timorese vote in UN-supervised referendum. 31 August:

Three members of UN staff killed in East Timor. 3 September: Pro-Jakarta militias rampage in East Timor. 4 September: East Timor referendum results announced: 78.5 percent vote for independence. 5 September: At least 100 Timorese killed around Dili. 6 September: Bishop Belo’s home burned and 6,000 refugees taken to West Timor. 7 September: State of military emergency imposed in East Timor. 12 September: Habibie accepts plans for international force in East Timor. 15 September: UN authorizes an international force to enter East Timor. 27 September: Indonesian military formally transfers authority in East Timor to multinational force. 20–21 October: Parliament elects Wahid president. 21 October: Megawati Sukarnoputri accepts vice presidency. 24 October: Renewed violence in Halmahera, spreading to Ternate and Tidore. 27 October: Wahid appoints National Unity Cabinet, including State Ministry for Regional Autonomy.

31 October: Wahid withdraws Kostrad and Kopassus troops from Aceh. November: Thousands of Christians evacuated from Maluku to Minahasa.

2000 17–18 January: Muslims riot in Lombok. 28 January: Wahid visits Middle East seeking economic aid. Mid-February: Wahid suspends Wiranto as coordinating minister for security. April: Military announces trial abolition of military presence at village level in Jakarta and Surabaya. 24 April: Wahid dismisses two other ministers. 12 May: Cease-fire agreed to in Aceh. 16 May: Wiranto formally resigns. 28 May: Riots in Poso, Central Sulawesi, kill at least 100. 4 June: Papuan Congress asserts rights of sover- eignty and calls for dialogue with Jakarta. 27 June: State of civil emergency declared in Maluku. 1 July: National police separated from TNI and placed directly under president’s control. 20 July: Wahid defends ministers’ firings before Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat (MPR). 9 August: Wahid agrees to share power with Megawati. August: Government abolishes Ministry of Re- gional Autonomy. 28 August: Parliament begins investigation of financial scandals involving Wahid. 6 September: Indonesian militias kill three UN aid workers in West Timor. 19 December: Wahid visits Banda Aceh. 24 De- cember: Christmas Eve church bombings throughout Java and Sumatra.

2001 3 January: Parliament censures Wahid over Bulog and Sultan of Brunei scandals. 5 January: Government declares it will control mining for five years. 22 January: Wahid refuses to answer Parliament’s accusa- tions and denies wrongdoing. 1 February: Parliament censures Wahid over financial scandals. February-March: Student demonstrations call for Wahid’s resignation. 28 March: Wahid rejects Parliament’s censure. 30 2001 3 January: Parliament censures Wahid over Bulog and Sultan of Brunei scandals. 5 January: Government declares it will control mining for five years. 22 January: Wahid refuses to answer Parliament’s accusa- tions and denies wrongdoing. 1 February: Parliament censures Wahid over financial scandals. February-March: Student demonstrations call for Wahid’s resignation. 28 March: Wahid rejects Parliament’s censure. 30

pledge loyalty to Constitution. 28 May: Attorney general clears Wahid of wrongdoing. 30 May: Wahid rejects second censure; Parliament to meet to initiate impeachment of Wahid; police reject Wahid’s firing of police chief.

1 June: Wahid reshuffles cabinet. 9 July: Wahid threatens state of emergency on 20 July if charges not dropped against him. 13 July: Amien Rais says he will call impeachment vote if Wahid declares state of emergency.

20 July: Parliament announces intention of convening session to oust Wahid. 22 July: Two Christian churches bombed in Jakarta. 23 July: Par- liament votes to dismiss Wahid; Megawati Sukarnoputri sworn in to replace him as president. 24 July: Separatist leaders and human rights lawyers arrested in Aceh. 26 July: Parliament elects Hamzah Haz of Partai Pemban- gunan Persatuan (PPP) as vice president. 16 August: In her first state of the union address, Megawati apologizes for military abuses. September: Elec- tion held in East Timor for de facto parliament and to draft new constitution. 13 December: Supreme Court declares Tommy Suharto must serve

11 months in jail. 17 December: Suharto hospitalized. 2002 10 January: Reestablishment of separate military command for

Aceh. 22 January: Abdullah Syafei, commander of Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (GAM), killed together with six others. February: Coordinating minister for political and social affairs given authority to resolve Aceh situation. 2 March: On Sulawesi, Moluccan Christian and Muslim leaders sign peace accord (Malino II) formally ending hostilities on Ambon. March: Tommy Suharto arrested. 28 April: 14 Christians killed in clashes in Maluku. 1 May: Laskar Jihad leader Ja’afer Umar Thalib arrested on charge of incit- ing Muslims to attack Christians. 20 May: UN Secretary-General Kofi An- nan cedes governing authority to newly independent Democratic Republic of East Timor with Jose Alexandre “Xanana” Gusmão as president. Presi- dent Megawati Sukarnoputri attends ceremony. 5 June: Indonesian security agents arrest and extradite Omar Al Faruq (allegedly al Qaeda’s Southeast Asia representative). June: Eurico Guterres and six other pro-Jakarta mili- tia leaders charged with crimes against humanity for violence after Timor’s 1999 independence vote. 29 June: Aceh rebels kidnap nine crew members of an ExxonMobil boat. July: President Gusmão visits Jakarta to discuss In- donesia–Timor relations. August: U.S. State Department urges federal court to dismiss human rights suit against ExxonMobil. 1 August: Malaysia law calls for imprisonment and caning of illegal workers, forcing thousands of migrants to flee back to Indonesia. 3 August: MPR votes to approve di- rect elections for president and vice president and to abolish military seats in parliament by 2004, defeats proposal for introduction of Islamic law

CHRONOLOGY • lxi (syariah). 15 August: Human rights court clears six army and police offi-

cers of crimes against humanity in East Timor. 31 August: Gunmen attack jeep near Freeport mine in Papua, killing two Americans and an Indone- sian. September: Akbar Tanjung, Golkar head and speaker of Parliament, sentenced to three years in jail for misusing $4 million of government funds. He appeals. 30 September: Army–police clash over marijuana trade near Medan leaves eight dead and over 20 wounded. 12 October: Bomb blast destroys nightclub in Bali, killing 202 people, about half foreign, 88 of them Australian tourists. Mid-October: 1,000 members of Laskar Jihad return to Java from Ambon; their leader Ja’far Umar Thalib states that they have dis- banded. 18 October: Indonesia issues emergency decree on terrorism. Late October: Government orders arrest of Abu Bakar Ba’asyir, allegedly spiri- tual leader of Jemaah Islamiah; despite being in hospital, he is taken into de- tention. 5 November: Police arrest Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, who allegedly bought and transported the bombs used in the Bali bombings. 9 December: Indonesian government and Acehnese rebel negotiators sign a peace agree- ment. 17 December: The World Court awards the small Celebes Sea islands of Ligitan and Sipadan to Malaysia. December: East Timor’s parliament ratifies a treaty with Australia on production, profit sharing, and distribution of royalties and taxes from oil and gas reserves.

2003 January: Lt. Col. Sujarwo, former army commander in East Timor, is convicted of failing to prevent attacks on home of Bishop Belo; Jakarta High Court upholds jail sentence against Akbar Tanjung; government raises prices for fuels, electricity, and communications, sparking large protest demonstrations in many Indonesian cities; a presidential instruction (inpres) proposes dividing Papua into three provinces; FBI links Indonesian soldiers to the 31 August 2002 killing of two Americans near the Freeport mine in Papua; in response to public opposition, government repeals many of the price hikes on fuel and other items. 2 February: Police arrest terrorist sus- pect Selamat Kastari, accused of complicity in terrorist attacks. February: Megawati confirms that she will run for reelection in 2004. 25 February: United Nations indicts General Wiranto and other officers for crimes against humanity during East Timor’s independence vote in 1999. March: Indone- sia states it will ignore the UN’s arrest warrants for Wiranto and the others accused. 13 March: Former East Timor commander Brig. Gen. Noer Moeis sentenced to five years in jail. 26 March: Megawati addresses meeting of Non-Aligned Movement in Kuala Lumpur, and Indonesia formally requests UN Security Council to convene an emergency meeting on Iraq. 31 March: Hundreds of thousands participate in antiwar protests against U.S.-led war in Iraq. 4 April: Government declares severe acute respiratory syndrome 2003 January: Lt. Col. Sujarwo, former army commander in East Timor, is convicted of failing to prevent attacks on home of Bishop Belo; Jakarta High Court upholds jail sentence against Akbar Tanjung; government raises prices for fuels, electricity, and communications, sparking large protest demonstrations in many Indonesian cities; a presidential instruction (inpres) proposes dividing Papua into three provinces; FBI links Indonesian soldiers to the 31 August 2002 killing of two Americans near the Freeport mine in Papua; in response to public opposition, government repeals many of the price hikes on fuel and other items. 2 February: Police arrest terrorist sus- pect Selamat Kastari, accused of complicity in terrorist attacks. February: Megawati confirms that she will run for reelection in 2004. 25 February: United Nations indicts General Wiranto and other officers for crimes against humanity during East Timor’s independence vote in 1999. March: Indone- sia states it will ignore the UN’s arrest warrants for Wiranto and the others accused. 13 March: Former East Timor commander Brig. Gen. Noer Moeis sentenced to five years in jail. 26 March: Megawati addresses meeting of Non-Aligned Movement in Kuala Lumpur, and Indonesia formally requests UN Security Council to convene an emergency meeting on Iraq. 31 March: Hundreds of thousands participate in antiwar protests against U.S.-led war in Iraq. 4 April: Government declares severe acute respiratory syndrome

Aceh; bill proposed transferring development powers from Bappenas to Ministry of Finance; Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM) attacks weapons warehouse in Wamena Papua, killing two TNI soldiers. 14 April: Charges of treason officially filed against Abu Bakar Baa’syir, chiefly in connection with the Christmas Eve 2000 church bombings. 23 April: Trial of Abu Bakar Baa’syir begins. 24 April: Peace talks between the government and GAM break down. 27 April: Bomb explodes at Jakarta airport, injuring 11.

5 May: Nurcholish Madjid expresses his willingness to run for president in 2004. 12 May: Amrozi bin Nurhasyim is first defendant to go on trial for the Bali bombings. 18 May: Peace talks in Tokyo to extend the cease-fire in Aceh between GAM and Indonesian government collapse. 19 May: Megawati declares martial law in Aceh, and some 50,000 government soldiers and police launch full-scale invasion. 21 May: U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee withholds $400,000 for training military officers in the United States until allegations of army complicity in killing of Americans in Papua are resolved. Late May: Imam Samudra goes on trial as mastermind of Bali bombings. 5 August: An explosion outside the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta kills 10 people and wounds about 150. 7 August: Amrozi found guilty in Bali bombing case and sentenced to death. 12 August: Riduan Isamuddim (Hambali), alleged head of Jemaah Islamiyah, arrested in Thai- land. Mid-August: Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri found guilty for crimes against humanity in East Timor and sentenced to three years in prison. 25 August: Province of Papua split into three with inauguration of new provinces of Central Irian Jaya and West Irian Jaya. 2 September: Court acquits Abu Bakar Baa’syir of terrorist charges, but sentences him to four years in jail for sedition. 10 September: Imam Samudra sentenced to death for his role in the Bali bombing. 18 September: Ali Imron sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the Bali bombings. October: Landslide disrupts production at Freeport’s Grasberg mine in Papua. 2 October: Ali Gufron (Mukhlas) sentenced to death for authorizing the Bali bombings. 9–12 October: Attacks on Christian villages in central Sulawesi leave 13 villagers and six suspects dead. December: Abu Bakar Baa’syir’s jail sentence reduced to three years for immigration and forgery charges; second major landslide hits Freeport mine in Papua. 7 December: General Elections Commission announces 24 parties eligible to contest 2004 elections. 29 December: Political parties submit their candidate lists for elections.

2004 4 February: The Supreme Court overturns the corruption conviction of Golkar head Akbar Tanjung.

Post-Suharto: 1998–Present