Date: January 29, 2001
On this day with SHAC, in January of 2001, thousands of students stormed the Indonesian parliament in protest of, then President, Abdurrahman Wahid, due to his suspected involvement in a corruption scandal. The students believed that the President was no longer acting in the interest of his citizens, with some going as far to say he never cared about the people, and that the accusations of corruption were the final straw. The longtime President and founder of the National Awakening Party (PKB) was suspected of being involved in a financial scheme within the government, which he was later cleared of in court.
With the accusations and comments, as well as policy, against religions, individuals began to gather that were anti-Wahid. At a meeting with university rectors on Jan. 27, 2001, Wahid commented on the possibility of Indonesia descending into anarchy. Wahid then made the suggestion that he may be forced to dissolve the DPR – the People’s Representative Council – if that happened. Although the meeting was off-the-record, it caused quite a stir and added to the fuel of the movement against him. On Feb.1, 2001, the DPR met to issue a memorandum against Wahid. Two memorandums constitute an MPR Special Session, where the impeachment and removal of a President would be legal. The vote was overwhelmingly for the memorandum and PKB members could only walk out in protest.
After the events of the vote and memorandums, others, who were supportive and sympathetic to Wahid, took to protesting themselves in his name. They declared that they wanted Wahid back and that they would die to defend him if necessary. Though this did lead to a longer process and much more back and forth, in the end Abdurrahman Wahid was removed from office and was forced to leave the Presidential Palace for good.