Indonesia is in the process of decaying and if the younger generations do not take over the leadership, the country could break apart.

Although Indonesia's reform movement, spearheaded by the younger generations and particularly students, succeeded in toppling then-president Suharto in May 1998, it failed to bring about real change. Almost three years later, the country is in worse shape than before as a result of conflicting interests of the political parties that participated in the 1999 general elections.

Ethnic and religious violence continues across the country, causing the deaths of thousands of innocent people. In his more than 15 months in office, Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid has clearly failed to bring the situation under control.

In Ambon and North Maluku provinces, religious clashes have flared for more than two years now and show no sign of abating. In West and Central Kalimantan provinces, ethnic violence between indigenous Dayaks and migrant Madurese has become a common occurrence, killing thousands and displacing tens of thousands more on both sides.

Moreover, Wahid has failed to win back the hearts of the Acehnese and Irianese who fought so long for independence.

Angry mobs

These ethnic and religious conflicts are the creation of people who lost their power and privileges because of the country's reform movement and are attempting to regain them. It is no coincidence that they, and other forms of violence, began immediately after Suharto's forced resignation.

If the situation does not improve, the disintegration of Indonesia will become a very real danger.

The people no longer believe in the rule of law and have started to take matters into their own hands. More than one hundred police stations have been attacked by angry mobs so far. Such events could eventually ignite a social revolution.

When the founding fathers declared the country's independence on August 17, 1945, they envisioned Indonesia as a free, democratic and modern country. It is very far from that today. At present all problems are resolved through killing. Democracy has simply never taken root, leaving the patronage system, or panutanisme , in place.

The reform movement seems to have given a free ride to power-hungry hypocritical politicians, who are fighting only for their own party's interests at the expense of their constituents' well-being and the country's unity. They all witnessed the massacres that Suharto's New Order regime carried out over its 32 years in power and did nothing to prevent them.

These self-proclaimed pro-reform politicians are the products, indeed the remnants, of the New Order regime and lack the moral authority to govern the country. President Wahid, Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri, Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Amien Rais, House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Akbar Tandjung, and other political leaders were all members of either the MPR or the DPR or both under Suharto.

Army reined

Wahid is a leader without a vision. He makes frequent overseas trips without a clear mission. As president, he is responsible for shaping government policy, not travelling overseas or focusing on extraneous issues, like the indictment of alleged corrupters.

He has, however, successfully reduced the power of the Indonesian army, at least for the time being. Other leaders wouldn't have dared to do that and likely would have compromised with army leaders.

Megawati, who is also the chairperson of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) that won the 1999 general election with 153 representatives in the House, owes her political advancement to the New Order. In fact, she is a New Order politician. When she was an MPR member during the Suharto regime, she did not dare to fight for the rights of her father Sukarno, the country's first president.

Rais, on the other hand, wants to be president, and everything that he does is geared toward that goal. As for Tandjung, he is the chairperson of Golkar, Suharto's political bandwagon.

Indonesia needs leaders with character who have passed the test of history. Unfortunately, none of the country's current political leaders has even undergone this test, let alone passed it.

The young chairperson of the Democratic People' Party (PRD) Budiman Sudjatmiko has. He was imprisoned in 1997 and 1998 because of his political convictions. When former president Baharuddin Jusuf Habibie granted him amnesty in 1998, he vehemently rejected it because he believed he committed no mistake.

Capable youth

There is no hope for the present regime. It should exit the stage and make room for the younger generations in order to prevent the country from breaking up.

Indonesia's youth are often considered to be inexperienced, but they have proven one thing - that they could topple a much-feared dictator, a historical first for young people with no experience.

The students should not wait until the government hands over leadership to them. Despite their weaknesses, the country's youth are capable of bringing about change in Indonesia because, in sharp contrast to the New Order, their hands are not tainted with blood of massacres, their mouths are not filled with the so-called 'national cake', and their pockets are not lined from corruption.

PRAMOEDYA ANANTA TOER, now 75, is Indonesia's most famous and prolific writer, with over 30 works translated into 30 languages. He was imprisoned and banished under both Sukarno and Suharto. The ban on his books imposed by Suharto for allegedly being pro-communist has not been officially lifted. Pramoedya wrote this column for Inter-Press Service.