Indonesia's Odd Couple

Elections often produce strange bedfellows, but Indonesia came up with a particularly choice union last week. Presidential candidate Wiranto, the former military chief of former strongman Suharto, announced that his running mate in July's election would be Solahuddin Wahid, deputy chairman of the country's Commission on Human Rights. Wiranto was in charge of the army in 1999 when hundreds died in East Timor at the hands of anti-independence militias allegedly funded and armed by the military. Wiranto continues to be dogged by these accusations: last week he was ordered arrested by a U.N.-backed court in East Timor for alleged war crimes, which he vehemently denies. But Solahuddin now insists that he has no doubts about Wiranto's conduct as armed-forces chief. "We have the same commitment to bringing about a just and prosperous Indonesia," Solahuddin said. "The time is right to turn vengeance into forgiveness."

The pairing just might work. Wiranto is viewed as a vibrant alternative to President Megawati Sukarnoputri, who is running for re-election, and his Golkar party won the biggest number of seats in April's legislative polls. The campaign is humming along nicely: according to the Jakarta Post, Wiranto raised $450,000 at a campaign dinner last week by treating his audience of businessmen to renditions of Javanese love songs. Strange bedfellows can sometimes make sweet music.