Budiman Sujatmiko, newly elected chair of the People's Democratic Party of Indonesia was interviewed for Green Left Weekly by Graham Mitchell and Karen Fleming in central Java on April 16.
Question: Why is this congress being held?
This congress is being held because of the vacuum of political leadership of the people. Objectively, we predict that in the near future the people will need the determined political program, the determined people's organisation to lead them and to prepare them politically, analytically and organisationally, to face the transitional period in the political situation.
Question: Who are the delegates?
The delegates are the representatives of SMID (Students in Solidarity with Democracy in Indonesia), PPBI (Indonesian Centre for Labour Struggles), STN (National Peasants' Association) and JAKER, (People's Cultural Network.)
Question: What is the goal of the PRD?
The main strategic goal is democratisation of the political, economic and cultural spheres. We need more space for the people to articulate their interests, politically and organisationally, because the things that we are missing during the New Order regime are freedom of expression, freedom of assembly.
Question: What are the organisational principles of the party? How will it be organised?
The party is led by the Central Board. This Central Board coordinates and leads the activities of PRD nationally. Also, the PRD is a political party with some mass organisations affiliated to it.
Question: How many branches do you anticipate will be formed in the near future?
Around 12: in Sumatra two branches, in Java six and in Sulawesi three.
Question: How will the PRD orient to the 1997 presidential elections?
The PRD has joined with the Independent Committee for the Monitoring of the Election [KIPP]. This is a broad alliance of people's organisations, a very wide spectrum, from middle right to the left, whose main concern is that the Indonesian political system is very unconducive for the people to get involved or active. In this committee the PRD tries to seek the potential power of the people, which has been so repressed by the New Order regime.
Question: Apart from the elections, what are the other priorities in the coming period?
Work in the industrial area, amongst workers, is still our main strategy. Clearly PRD's involvement in the political movement cannot be separated from this mass strategy based on workers' and peoples' mobilisations.
Question: Can you make any prediction about what the reaction of the Suharto regime will be to the establishment of the PRD as an open political party?
I think Suharto and his apparatus will at least try to prevent our development and will try to repress our activities in the branches. I couldn't predict what they will do to the Central Board, but I think they will try to repress our chapters.
Question: I understand that there has already been some military repression of KIPP meetings.
One of the PRD members who attended this congress, Bambang, is the coordinator of the KIPP in the province of Lampung. He was interrogated and threatened by the military. They demanded that he withdraw and not continue KIPP activities in Lampung.
Question: How would you characterise the current political period in Indonesia?
Indonesia is now in a transitional period. This is a crucial moment because the 1997 election and 1998 General Convention of People's Assemblies are very crucial for the people to decide their attitude to the next term of the presidency.
For the first time there is massive support for an alternative candidate: Megawati, the daughter of the first president, Sukarno. She has very strong support in some regions and is very popular among the lower classes. This is the first time the Indonesian people have consciously supported an alternative presidential candidate.
Question: One of the PRD's tactics in this election will be to call for the abolition of electoral law number 5, which restricts the number of political parties permitted to participate to three. If this law was abolished, would the PRD stand in elections?
Yes! We would participate in elections, and we wouldn't hesitate to make a coalition with the PDI and the PPP.
There is already a coalition to campaign for the abolition of the electoral laws, and in the coming weeks we will try to make a campaign for promoting a new presidential candidate.
Question: Could you give some outline of the progress of the PRD since its formation as the People's Democratic Union in 1994?
The leadership of the PRD which was elected at the first congress in May 1994 could not implement the aspirations of the congress. Because of this failure, the members of PRD appointed a provisional presidium to take over the leadership, and I was elected in August 1995 to lead this provisional presidium. During the presidium leadership, we have had some mass actions, including solidarity actions with East Timor, a workers' mobilisation in Solo involving 10,000 workers, and in Surabaya in east Java 4000 workers.
Question: The embassy actions on December 7, 1995, in solidarity with the East Timorese struggle for independence certainly made an international impact. What plans do you have to build on this success?
Our plan is to show to the Indonesian people that the East Timor problem is unfinished and this is not just an internal Indonesian issue. It is an international issue that needs our concern because the invasion of East Timor in 1975 was not the policy of the Indonesian people. Indonesian people love freedom and independence.
One of the most important aspects of being a democrat is having the courage to openly show solidarity with other oppressed people, not just in international campaigns but to show it inside Indonesia. That was our main motivation for that action in 1995. By doing that also we could appeal to the other democratic forces to give support to East Timor openly and investigate the possibilities for a coalition with other organisations and also with the people of East Timor.
Question: There was a representative of the National Council of Maubere Resistance [CNRM] at this Congress. What is the relationship between the PRD and the resistance?
We are allies. We need them as our reliable ally in the struggle for liberation, not just for our internal affairs but also to support their movement for liberation from the same power that oppresses us.
Question: Would you like to say anything else?
Yes. We call on the Australian people to show their solidarity more massively because Australian people are our neighbours. A political transformation in Indonesia will impact directly on our relationship. During our struggle for independence in the 1940s, Australian workers gave their solidarity by boycotting the Dutch ships. We appreciate these moments and we still need the Australian people and people around Asia to give solidarity to our struggle for democratisation.