On July 27, peaceful student protesters in the central Java city of Yogyakarta were attacked by baton-wielding thugs. At least 21 people were badly hurt. The students were commemorating the military-backed attack on Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) four years ago in Jakarta. The thugs are believed to be members of the Indonesian military. A separate attack occurred in the East Java city of Lamongan.
On July 28, the National Student League for Democracy (LMND) issued the following statement:
The New Order regime has three central pillars: the military, the bureaucracy and the Golkar party, each with their own roles. The military functions a tool of repression against the people, the bureaucracy acts to strengthen the legitimacy of the government and Golkar is a tool to centralise power and mobilise people to support it.
While the New Order regime was in power, millions of people lived under extremely oppressive conditions — they were murdered, abducted, raped and tortured. All of this was to enrich a small handful of people, the leaders of the New Order regime. Naturally, this oppression and exploitation met resistance and in 1998, the movement to overthrow the Suharto regime could no longer be stopped.
The July 27, 1996, incident was one of the ways the New Order regime tried to destroy the pro-democracy movement. The regime was afraid that Golkar would not win the 1997 elections because of the popularity of PDI leader Megawati Sukarnoputri. They also feared the free speech forums at the PDI headquarters which continued for several weeks and drew huge crowds. Their actions against Megawati had no effect on her sympathisers and the democratic movement. The only course open for the New Order regime to save itself was to close down the free speech forums. What followed was the July 27 incident.
Four years on, the democratic movement still commemorates the July 27 incident each year, using it as a means of drawing together the movement to fight the remnants of the New Order dictatorship under the new political conditions.
The attacks against activists commemorating the July 27 incident in a number of cities proves that remnants of the New Order regime are still trying to maintain their power. They are trying to maintain their positions in the government and parliament and are also trying to return to power.
The attack on our comrades proves the remnants of the New Order regime have not become democratic as they claim. They continue to use violence by the military, the militia, paid thugs and elements which are involved in creating communal and religious unrest to strike at the pro-democratic movement's struggle for democracy.
The LMND calls for:
Golkar to be condemned for its actions against the commemoration actions, particularly in Yogyakarta and Lamongan;
Those who truly wish for genuine democracy and social justice to unite to confront the remnants of the New Order, that is former Suharto, Golkar and the military;
A full investigation into the involvement of the New Order regime in the July 27, 1996, incident and other cases of human rights violations; and
A statement from President Abdurrahman Wahid, parliamentarians and other state institutions on their commitment to the struggle for democracy in Indonesia.
TRANSLATED BY JAMES BALOWSKI