BY NICK EVERETT & REBECCA MECKELBURG
BANDUNG — Police have arrested six members of the radical People's Democratic Party (PRD) in West Java, in an attempt to repress the largest strike the Indonesian province has seen since the coming to power of Suharto in 1965-66.
More than 20,000 workers from 24 Bandung factories took strike action from June 13, and were joined on June 15 by thousands of angkutan (minibus) drivers, demanding the withdrawal of a government decree annulling employers' obligations to make redundancy payments to sacked workers.
Workers were also fearful of the impact of cuts in fuel subsidies and a resultant 30% increase in petrol prices, due to come into effect on June 15.
They have forced a partial backdown, the government delaying the price rise and the provincial governor promising that the labour decree will not apply in West Java.
The strike began on June 13 as an initiative of the All-Indonesia Workers Union, the SPSI, a union federation formerly tightly controlled by Suharto's ruling party, Golkar.
The strike was supported by factory workers throughout Bandung's garment and textile industry, with workers streaming in from industrial areas around the city. Some 8000 labourers from Leuwigajah marched up the toll road from Pasteur to Baros to participate in the rally.
Once outside Bandung's local parliament, the demonstration soon became a riot.
A representative from the SPSI, speaking from atop a police vehicle, attempted to convince the workers that negotiations between the provincial legislature and all Bandung unions had resulted in a backdown by the provincial legislature.
But the workers, aware that the more militant Indonesian National Front for Workers' Struggle (FNPBI) had not been a party to the discussions, were not convinced that their redundancy entitlements were safe and began throwing stones at the building.
The police then attacked the workers with sticks, but soon found themselves outnumbered by workers who chased them away.
On June 14, 20,000 striking workers again returned to the provincial legislature from industrial areas around Bandung, where they were confronted by five lines of police and Brimob (mobile brigade) armed forces.
This time an employee of the legislature attempted to convince the workers that the legislature had backed away from implementation of the decree by circulating copies of a decree from West Java's governor, Nuriana. These were torn up by the workers, who shouted "Liar, Liar" at the official; some again began throwing stones at the parliament building.
This time the police used tear gas and rubber bullets to attack protesters, injuring at least nine people. In addition, 83 protesters were detained over the two days, including a representative of the FNPBI and two members of the National Student League for Democracy (LMND).
Protest actions, including by public transport workers, continued throughout the weekend. Workers also took action in the nearby industrial city of Surabaya.
Police immediately accused the PRD of orchestrating the riots, claiming that it had paid workers 60,000 rupiah ($12) to participate, a claim firmly denied by the PRD.
The claims were taken up by a right-wing group calling itself Forum Banjaran, which circulated pamphlets on June 14 accusing the PRD of promoting riots and anarchy.
On June 17, while distributing leaflets, one PRD member, Anton, was grabbed by a group of vigilantes, beaten and then taken to a local police station. A further four PRD members were captured by plain-clothes police.
The local military then raided the local PRD offices, forcing party members to make a quick escape out the back exit. The military then proceeded to throw stones at the office, break down the door, damage property and remove computers and party documents.
The regional PRD leaders have since gone into hiding but PRD units continue to organise actions to condemn the Bandung police.
The party's chaiperson, Budiman Sujatmiko, has asked the human rights commission to investigate the incident, while West Java party secretary Natalia Scholastica was able to travel to Jakarta for a national media conference to condemn the police. There she expressed concerns for the safety of the detainees but vowed that her party would not be intimidated.
Forum Banjaran is only one of many groups being organised by right-wing forces to terrorise the democratic movement. Some are organised around an explicitly anti-communist program, such as the AAK, the Anti-Communist Alliance, while others are Islamic fundamentalist in character.
While primarily made up of members of the urban poor desperate for money, these militias are well-organised, even having a secretariat in central Jakarta, something far beyond the resources of poor slum-dwellers.
In Bandung, Forum Banjaran has operated as provocateurs in workers' actions, encouraging rioting and then accusing the PRD of being responsible.