Page 67 - SCANDAL AND DEMOCRACY

52 Chapter 2

reform movement, they regularly communicated with and sought advice from activist
elements in the media. When the demonstrators finally forced Suharto from office,
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freedom of speech was one of their chief demands.
While we can only speculate on how a reform movement might have progressed
without the galvanizing effect of the 1994 bans, the protests and lawsuits they inspired
became important forums for articulating both a platform of opposition to the New
Order and a critique of the regime’s system for controlling information. Although
there is no clear causal connection between this public outcry and Suharto’s even-
tual resignation, the anger had a transformative effect in the emergence of a new
consciousness among Indonesians who later formed the backbone of the reformasi
movement.
In the process, the bans helped pave the way for democratic reform to become
the dominant agenda of those seeking change after the Asian financial crisis hit. This
new core of activists was dedicated to freedom of expression and fair contestation,
positioned to influence the direction the country took as it weathered the collapse of
the New Order.