BY MAX LANE
On October 5, Indonesian police arrested Ricky Tamba, secretary-general of the Popular Youth Movement (GPK), an urban poor youth organisation that acts in political solidarity with the Peoples Democratic Party (PRD).
Tamba was detained by police at a demonstration protesting the inauguration of retired general Sutiyoso as governor of Jakarta. Sutiyoso's appointment is opposed by a broad coalition of political and community organisations because of his role in state repression during the Suharto period and his alignment with the rich in his last period of governorship of Jakarta.
However, Tamba was arrested in relation to charges of "insulting the head of state" brought against two other members of the GPK arrested several weeks ago. The two, both street peddlers, were detained after stamping their feet on photographs of President Megawati Sukarnoputri and vice-president Hamzah Haz. It appears that as secretary-general of the GPK, Tamba is going to be charged with the same offence and to be held responsible for giving the orders to "defile" the photographs.
Tamba has repeatedly argued that the only thing that has brought President Megawati into disrepute is her own policies. Both Tamba and the two GPK members remain in jail. In fact, it is reported that there are between seven and 10 other activists who have been in prison for several weeks now, detained for stamping on photographs or burning effigies of the president.
The only comment to come from Megawati has been a statement, quoted by an aide, that people who defile such national symbols should be expelled from the country.
On October 9, more arrests took place in the aftermath of a student demonstration demanding the disbandment of Golkar, the ruling party under the Suharto dictatorship, following the conviction on corruption charges of Golkar chairperson Akbar Tanjung. He has been sentenced to seven years but remains speaker of the parliament.
About 300 students, from several student organisations including the National Students League for Democracy (LMND) and City Forum (Forkot) were attacked by a gang of about 100 thugs who had assembled outside the Golkar office where the demonstration was taking place. Other participating groups included University Indonesia Student Action Front (FAM-UI), Revolutionary Students League (LMR), 2002 Revolutionary Front, National Front (Fronnas), and the Joint Communique (Kober).
As the students scattered they were trapped outside the Christian University of Indonesia by waiting soldiers and police. Some students threw Molotov cocktails. More than 100 protesters were arrested and many were injured.
From Green Left Weekly, October 16, 2002.
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