Indonesia — struggling for democracy and justice
By Kerryn Williams
During the first two weeks of February, 11 Australian solidarity activists took part in a student exposure tour to Indonesia. We met with activists from various sectors and organisations who are continuing the struggle for democracy and justice in Indonesia.
The tour was hosted by the People's Democratic Party (PRD), the Indonesian National Front for Worker Struggles (FNPBI) and the National Student League for Democracy (LMND).
The activists, members of Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor (ASIET), were able to witness first-hand the challenges and achievements facing the democracy movement under Abdurrahman Wahid's newly elected government.
While it is starkly apparent that very little has changed for the majority of Indonesian people — the military's repressive role is still very apparent and mass unemployment and poverty continue to rise — the Wahid-Megawati government is enjoying a "honeymoon period".
Many still believe that it will introduce real reforms. The government has even promised to gradually abolish the military's role in political affairs.
However, illusions in the progressive nature of Wahid's government may be short-lived, given its economic and political agenda. While promising during the election campaign to alleviate the economic crisis and the suffering of the people, the Wahid-Megawati government is about to implement harsh austerity measures.
The ASIET exposure tour met with students, workers, peasants, urban poor, artists and others. They are all taking advantage of the increased democratic space to organise and form new organisations, unions and action committees to collectively fight these attacks. These activists were united in saying that their main efforts are to get the military out of politics and to fight the government's anti-people economic policies.
The FNPBI is organising workers in numerous provinces to demand a 100% pay rise, lower prices, no more sackings, a 32-hour work week, the abolition of the "dual function" of the military (which gives it a role in politics) and an end to the contract work system. Dozens of strikes and other militant actions happen across the country on a daily basis.
Tour participant and Sydney University student Anne Hellwig noted, "In such difficult conditions when there is little history of unionism, it was particularly inspiring to meet with some of the newly formed organisations like the becak [bicycle taxi] drivers' union".
The PRD has launched a national campaign against the government's IMF-imposed neo-liberal economic policies. The government has agreed to massive cuts in social spending in exchange for a three year US$5 billion loan from the IMF.
On February 18, a new law was approved to cut fuel and electricity subsidies by 20-30%. This will double prices and will have a dramatic impact on the already impoverished lives of the majority of Indonesians.
ASIET activists observed organising meetings of PRD branches, which were preparing for their national action against the subsidies cuts in Jakarta on February 21. The 500-strong action forced Wahid to meet with PRD leaders, who demanded the subsidy cuts be reviewed.
The PRD highlighted the experience of those Latin American countries that have been forced to implement IMF structural adjustment programs, with the end result being greater poverty for more of the population. This left-wing pro-democracy party argues that the impact of such IMF-driven policies in Indonesia will be the same, benefiting only a tiny minority of capitalists.
The PRD has proposed a range of alternative measures to address Indonesia's economic problems including refusing to pay the foreign debt and refusing new loans, nationalising Suharto's estimated US$16 billion worth of assets, reducing the military budget and nationalising the military's enterprises and cleaning up corruption in state-owned enterprises and the bureaucracy.
The PRD has called on people throughout Indonesia to unite and organise to reject the government's program.
In coming weeks, activists who participated in the student exposure tour will report on their experiences to ASIET club meetings on universities around the country. ASIET committees are planning a range of activities in solidarity with the Indonesian democracy movement.
For details see the advertisements in this broadsheet and contact your local ASIET committee to get active in strengthening the solidarity movement with the Indonesian and East Timorese pro-democracy forces.