NICO WAHID is a leader of Students in Solidarity with Democracy in Indonesia (SMID), a national progressive student organisation with 10 branches across Indonesia which was established in 1991. Nico is in Australia to attend the "East Timor: Its Future in the Asia-Pacific" Conference and will also attend the Resistance National Conference and tour Australia speaking about the struggle for a democratic Indonesia and a free East Timor. He was interviewed for Green Left Weekly by JO BROWN.
Question: What does Students in Solidarity with Democracy in Indonesia stand for?
SMID is an organisation that is quite different from the many other student organisations in Indonesia, like the Muslim and nationalist student organisations. SMID is part of the pro-democracy movement, along with the other sectoral organisations like the Indonesian Centre for Labour Struggle (PPBI) and the National Peasants' Union (STN), under the umbrella of the People's Democratic Party (PRD).
Question: What are the main demands of SMID?
Our main demand is to make campus more democratic, because in Indonesia there is a "feudal" atmosphere on campus. We want all students to be able to speak freely, which is not possible in Indonesia today. Secondly, SMID is concerned with the broader situation in Indonesia. At the moment, we work along with all the other organisations in the pro-democracy movement to fight the undemocratic Suharto regime.
Question: Are issues like university fees or the right to have democratic student organisations relevant for students in Indonesia?
Yes: university fees are increasing from year to year. Previously, the state university fee was lower than the private university fee. But now the state university fee is quite similar to the private fee. For a semester it costs about Rp300,000 to Rp500,000 [A$200-330] and in some big private universities it is more than Rp 1 million — which is very high for ordinary Indonesians.
Regarding student organisations, we have the student senate, which is a very formal organisation under the control of the government. In the student senate there are representatives from Islamic organisations, Christian organisations etc, but SMID is excluded. Last year SMID, together with the other progressive student organisations, initiated the student representative council or dewan mahasiswa, which continues to struggle for the right to exist as a democratic and independent student organisation.
Question: How many students does SMID represent?
It is difficult to say exactly, but SMID is able to mobilise thousands of students for major demonstrations. For example, in Yogyakarta about three weeks ago we organised 3000 to 4000 students in an action in solidarity with the Ujung Pandang incident, where 18 students were killed after the military attacked student protests on campus against transport price rises. We also mobilised 5000 or 6000 in Jakarta and led a hunger strike in Surabaya.
Question: What is the relationship of SMID to the workers' movement?
In 1991 or 1992, we realised that it is not possible to struggle for democracy in Indonesia only in one sector, especially the student sector. We realised that we had to form an alliance with other sectors of society. At that time, students from SMID tried to enter worker communities to organise them, to explain to them how low their wages are, because most workers don't realise this. This was the beginning of our relationship with the workers' movement.
More recently, SMID activists have supported demonstrations and strikes organised by workers, such as the large strikes in Solo in December last year of around 15,000 workers at the Sritex textile factory.
Question: What is the attitude of the SMID to East Timor?
We know that we have a common experience with the East Timorese — since 1975 many of the East Timorese people have been killed, and since 1965 many of the Indonesian people have been killed. This is due to the same cause — the Suharto regime, the regime which we both struggle against.
Question: SMID was involved in the December 1995 embassy occupations in Jakarta. Why did you take that sort of high-profile action to support the East Timorese struggle?
East Timor is not an issue that many Indonesians are aware of, so by raising the issue among Indonesians we can make them aware of the East Timorese people's experience. The pressure on the Indonesian government needs to come not just from the East Timorese resistance or the international solidarity campaign, but also from the Indonesian pro-democratic movement. How can you say that you are a part of the democratic movement if you don't support the struggle of the East Timorese people?
Question: What are you hoping to achieve in Australia?
I am here representing not just SMID but also PRD. Through this tour, we want to make international links and publicise the East Timor issue.
Many people in Australia are concerned about human rights in East Timor, but the key issue for East Timor is not just human rights. The East Timorese will not have human rights while Suharto is in power, so more Australians have to support self-determination for East Timor.
Question: What do you believe is the role of the solidarity movement in Australia?
I think the main role is to unite to pressure your own government to withdraw recognition of the invasion of East Timor, because in 1975 Whitlam supported the invasion. It is not a matter of choosing between Labor or Liberal, because both support the Suharto regime.