The newly-elected president and vice president of Indonesia can be said to represent more than 30 years of dedicated opposition to the country's ruling forces. For the citizens of that beleaguered nation, they offer hope of unity and progress. PNS commentator Bramantyo Prijosusilo is an artist based in Jogjaharta whose work is currently on exhibit in Oakland, CA at the Pacific Bridge Contemporary South Asian Art Gallery. His e-mail address is maysaroh@hotmail.com.

YOGYA, JAVA --

The two new leaders are probably the country's most loved politicians -- though they have many severe critics. As the most influential symbols of resistance to Suharto's "New Order" regime, both have also been victims of military abuse.

Megawati led the Indonesian Democratic Party For Struggle (PDI-P), and many of her supporters were kidnapped, jailed, tortured, beaten, and killed, but more came forward, drawn by her steadfastness, her non-violence, her commitment to the rule of law and her pedigree -- as the daughter of Sukarno, Indonesia's first President, who stood for the "little people."

Gus Dur's natural power base is the NU, the country's largest Muslim organization. A staunch enemy of the Indonesian Communist Party in Sukarno's era, the NU helped Suharto gain power through bloody military purges. But once that power became complete power, NU rejected his extensive use of state intervention.

In retaliation, Suharto attacked NU with "intelligence operations" designed to terrorize citizens. Mysterious "ninja" figures jumped out of the dark to murder the local religious teachers.

Hundreds were killed in this fashion in NU areas, and frightened people made roadblocks. Anyone without an ID card could expect to die under a hail of machetes and scythes. Many innocent people were killed by locals running amok. Gus Dur made angry public statements attacking the killings, and they stopped.

Both Gus Dur and Megawati are used to combating violence, effectively, through assertive non-violence. They have long been heroes of the oppressed, and there are high hopes that they will create a new Indonesia.

The New Order has left them with gigantic problems. For example, the resource-rich Aceh region on northern Sumatra has a sophisticated, armed, separatist guerrilla movement. Movements in other parts of the country have also expressed separatist sentiment.

Observers see this as a product of three decades of centralization, corruption, and military dominance. The new presidential team must bring the nation together.

Just after they were elected, Gus Dur took Megawati's hand and called this the second liberation of Indonesia, after the 1945 proclamation of independence. If the new leaders discard the development schemes designed by U.S.-trained technocrats and implement more ecological, community oriented economic programs, their government will truly make a complete break.

Both leaders have roots in Indonesia's modern liberation movement which dates back a century. Megawati's late father, Sukarno, attempted to design an Indonesian socialism based on small farmers. His teachings, banned under the New Order, are once more being openly discussed.

Gus Dur is the most influential of the "royalty" of the "ulama," the network of traditional Islamic schools that have been teaching what arguably could be called "liberation theology" for centuries. Students study to become independent members of society and messengers of Islam.

If Islamism worries the U.S., it should be said that Gus Dur consistently has been among the world's most humane and progressive Islamists, arguably, in the world. He has never made racist statements -- indeed, in the past he used his influence to protect the ethnic Chinese population's right to practice their own religion. He often risks opposition from his fellow "ulama." He is an activist for the cause of tolerance.

Serious opposition to Gus Dur's and Megawati's program is expected. Under Suharto's New Order, global capitalism worked through Indonesia's corrupt government and military. The resulting disparities and the economic crisis pushed many to desperation.

The islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan (Borneo), once famous for their tropical jungles, have been stripped bare. The rice fields of Java, once bustling with life, have become environmental disasters, saturated in pesticides and chemical fertilizer. Only a development program fully supported by the people will be powerful enough to keep the nation together.

There should be no illusions: the free, global, market will not go away. What Indonesians want from global capitalism and the world market economy is sovereignty. We must be able to defend our interests and give our market a locally accepted humane face -- no more crony-capitalism utilizing soldiers to rob land from peasants.

As an artist who has worked with political issues, I feel immense relief. If the country's new leadership is able to implement a liberating development program, politics in art may have the opportunity to rise above the level of power politics, and enter the political arena of values. "Political" artists, having lost the New Order as an enemy, can now pay attention to the work that needs to be done to our value system.

A last word concerns Gus Dur's health. The faithful in Indonesia are confident that he will overcome his health problems. During his last illness, the Muslim community conducted a special ceremony, a communal prayer offered only when someone is very ill. If the sick person is to die, the prayer asks Allah to summon his soul with speed, but if the ill one is to be useful to Life, Allah is Great in Healing. After the ceremony, Gus Dur rapidly recovered.