Court (Mahkamah Agung), the judges are
appointed by the president

Political parties and leaders: Golkar (de facto ruling political
Indonesia Democracy Party or PDI (federation of former Nationalist
chairman]

International organization participation: APEC, AsDB, ASEAN, CCC,
CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU,
ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat,
Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW,
OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMOP, UNMOT,
UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador DORODJATUN Kuntoro-Jakti
chancery: 2020 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and
San Francisco

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador J. Stapleton ROY
embassy: Medan Merdeka Selatan 5, Jakarta
mailing address: Unit 8129, Box 1, APO AP 96520
consulate(s) general: Surabaya

Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and
white; similar to the flag of Monaco, which is shorter; also similar
to the flag of Poland, which is white (top) and red

Economy

Economy--overview: The collapse of the rupiah in late 1997 and
early 1998 caused GDP to contract by an estimated 13.7% in 1998
because of Indonesian firms' reliance on short-term
dollar-denominated debt and high levels of nonperforming loans in
the banking sector. The Indonesian Government initially wavered on
meeting the conditions it agreed to in exchange for a $42 billion
IMF assistance package, contributing to further loss in investor
confidence and outflows of capital. Riots that in many cases
targeted ethnic Chinese business owners also set back chances that
Indonesia would quickly stabilize its financial crisis and
contributed to President SOEHARTO's resignation on 21 May 1998. His
successor, B.J. HABIBIE, improved cooperation with the IMF. The
money supply--which expanded rapidly early in the year to prop up
banks hit by deposit runs--was tightened within a few months, and by
October, inflation--which reached a 77% annual rate--was significantly
dampened. The government also announced a bank recapitalization
program in late 1998, but by early 1999 the plan faced growing
challenges over its reliance on public funds. Do