Budiman demands supreme court intervention
On October 24, the chairperson of the People's Democratic Party (PRD), Budiman Sujatmiko, went to the Supreme Court to protest against the handling of the party's case against former President Suharto and 12 others. A similar complaint was lodged by the PRD with the national ombudsman on October 18.
The PRD is suing Suharto for damages of US$603,000 over the persecution of the party by the Suharto regime. According to the Detik news service, Sujatmiko and five members of the PRD's legal team went to the court after the judge refused to allow the PRD to present the testimonies of an expert witness and those directly involved.
Strike enters second week
A dispute between workers from the electrical manufacturing company PT Maspion in Surabaya, East Java, erupted into violence when striking workers were provoked by hired thugs on October 24.
The workers, on strike since October 18, are demanding an increase in allowances from 3000 rupiahs (US33 cents) to Rp6000. They are also demanding that seven workers fired for organising the strike be reinstated. The company has agreed only to an increase of Rp300.
Some 3000 workers who had blockaded roads near Maspion's Unit II were prevented from entering the factory by scores of hired thugs armed with machetes. After overwhelming the thugs, the workers burned down a security building, destroyed company files and damaged a security gate on the second floor of the main building.
Strike leader MA Mochtar, a former representative of the Indonesian Workers Prosperity Union (SBSI), told Detik that the union had failed to represent their interests. "Next Thursday we will occupy SBSI's offices at PT Maspion so we can take down their name plate. It's time that the SBSI was disbanded", he said.
The strikers made their way to the regional parliament intending to demand legislators take up their case. They were unable to enter the parliament — not because they were stopped by security forces but because the building had already been occupied by some 100 protesters from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-S). The PDI-S demonstrators were protesting vote buying in a recent election.
Prawn farmers demonstrate
On October 24, some 300 prawn farmers from Lampung, South Sumatra, demonstrated at the presidential palace in Jakarta. The farmers were protesting a decision by President Abdurrahman Wahid to postpone the prosecution of Sjamsul Nursalim, the boss of their plantation company, PT Dipasenan.
This is the second demonstration by prawn farmers in Jakarta in as many weeks. Last week some 80 farmers from PT Dipasenan demonstrated over misconduct by local mobile brigade troops who they claim had been stealing prawns and disrupting the farming process.
[Visit Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor's web site at <http://www.asiet.org.au> for more news updates.]