Independence Day a family affair

By CNN's Atika Shubert in Jakarta

JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- Indonesia's commemoration ceremony this year, marking the nation's Independence Day, carried a distinctly familial tone.

Indonesia's President Megawati Sukarnoputri proudly received the nation's original flag of independence - an item of deep historical significance in Indonesia.

But for Megawati, the flag is something of a family heirloom. It was sewn by her mother and used by her father, Sukarno, to declare Indonesia's independence.

As the ceremony took place inside Jakarta's Presidential Palace hundreds of spectators outside the gate cheered, investing their hopes in Indonesia's new President.

"Hopefully, Megawati will be firm in dealing with all of the problems we are facing and that Megawati keeps all the promises that she has made," says Said Ilias, a marketing manager who came to the palace this year to catch a glimpse of the new president.

Daunting Challenges

In a sign of the tough challenges ahead for Megawati, more than 30 separate explosions ripped through the troubled province of Aceh on the eve of Independence Day.

Police in Aceh also discovered a mass grave containing 48 bodies, the largest find of its kind this year. All the bodies were victims of Aceh's ongoing separatist insurgency.

In her Independence Day speech to parliament on Thursday, Megawati faced the Aceh problem head on by apologizing for decades of human rights abuses and offering a political compromise of regional autonomy.

"These apologies to the people of Aceh are not a first for President Megawati There have been numerous apologies from other leaders. But the kidnapping, the rapes, the murders and the burning continue to worsen," says Said Abu Sofyan Daud, spokesperson of the Free Aceh Rebel Movement.

"What the people of Aceh want is not apologies but to be responsible for their own fate. "

Awash with problems

In addition to separatist violence, Megawati must deal with a crippled economy, rampant corruption and an eruption of communal conflicts in Indonesia's outer provinces.

The same problems have played a part in the removal of Indonesia's last two presidents since the fall of former President Suharto's 30-year dictatorship in 1998.

Turbulent times have left some Indonesians wistful for the Suharto era, pinning their hopes for a return to stability on President Megawati.

"Megawati's government is brand new. It has just been established. So, it hasn't had time really work yet," explained Nuriani, a housewife who brought her 3 children to watch Independence Day celebrations at the Palace.

"We can only hope it will be more prosperous and more peaceful. Like the time under Suharto. "