Indonesia: 'The radicalisation will spread'
Following the mass protests in Jakarta November 10-14, Green Left Weekly's MAX LANE spoke to MA'RUF, a leader of the People's Democratic Party (PRD) who has been monitoring developments.
Question: What were the demands that united the mobilisations in Jakarta?
Generally, there were four main demands from all groups, and the majority of students and people. These were: reject the special session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR); abolish the dual role of the armed forces, called dwifungsi; put Suharto on trial; and establish a provisional government.
There are different views about what the provisional government should be. The Communication Forum of Jakarta Student Senates (FKSMJ) is demanding a presidium comprising figures in the political elite who have some real mass support and a reputation of being free of corruption.
Forum Kota (Forkot), a big cross-campus activist coalition, is demanding a people's committee comprising a broader range of figures and organisations that are part of the democracy movement.
The PRD, Student and People's Committee Against the Dual Function of the Armed Forces, KOBAR [Workers' Committee for Reform Action] and KPM [Megawati Supporters' Committee] are campaigning for a democratic coalition government comprising progressive forces that have struggled consistently for democracy. Such a government, we argue, must be controlled by people's councils that are established from the district level through to the national level.
There has, however, been enough in common to form a united action front.
Question: What social sectors joined the mobilisations, and how big were they?
The majority of those who gathered for the initial actions were university students. In the following days, huge numbers of urban poor were mobilised. There were also some urban poor in the initial actions, organised through the KPM.
Workers were mobilised by KOBAR. There were also large numbers of middle-class professionals mobilised, especially as the march proceeded through Sudirman Street, a major business area.
The mass protests grew from day to day. The first day mobilised about 5000. The second day there were more than 10,000. By the third day, November 13, it had reached almost 1 million and had virtually surrounded the parliament building.
Both the regime and the loyal "opposition" (those waiting for the elections) panicked. After so many people were shot on November 13, the number of people on the streets was huge. People came out all over the city.
At this point, some students feared that riots would occur and refused to unite with the masses. The result was that the rally itself was only tens of thousands strong.
Things peaked on the night of November 14. There was the accumulating impact of the previous three days of demonstrations, which was magnified by the big media coverage.
The media also reported the clashes between the mass mobilisations and the pan swakarsa, the brigades of thugs armed with sharpened bamboo sticks that the army paid to fight the students. Some ultra-right Islamic groups were also mobilised against the students.
As the time for the final session of the MPR approached, many still hoped that all the demonstrations might result in some concessions from the MPR.
There wasn't the slightest concession. The people's hopes turned to frustration and anger. There was a real desire by the masses to end the MPR; they mobilised to surround the grounds.
But the regime also mobilised all out to make sure that the MPR could end successfully. If the MPR had been stopped, the whole political system would have collapsed.
Question: What is the mood among students now?
The mass actions have stopped, mainly because of physical exhaustion and some confusion as to what to do next, but students' spirits are still high.
This is especially evident in the regions where actions have continued. There have been occupations of local parliaments, government radio and television stations, airports and military bases.
Question: What about workers and urban poor?
The urban poor mobilised in huge numbers and were very supportive. They provided food and drinks along the roads. They were in the front ranks whenever the students were attacked, leading them through the lanes in the slums when they were being chased.
The military were clearly afraid whenever the urban poor and students united, so they were trying to keep them apart, both physically and with propaganda.
There were not so many factory workers mobilised. One reason is that the actions were a long way away from the industrial areas.
Question: Which political groups or trends have a major influence among students in Jakarta?
The demands of the demonstrations were the same as those that the PRD has been campaigning on for some time now.
In May, most students were not yet supporting the demand for the end of dwifungsi. Their anger was still focused on specific people inside the army, like General Prabowo. They still had hopes in General Wiranto.
At the time, the issue of a provisional government was not being discussed at all, except perhaps inside Forkot. As far as rejection of the MPR special session went, the students' demand was, in fact, that the regime hold the session as quickly as possible. The demand for Suharto to be put on trial was already around before May, but became much more widespread after May.
This doesn't mean that the PRD is the most influential organisation. It is still small and has not yet been able to present its views through the mass media. But those large organisations which do have access to the media and the legal political sphere have even less influence.
The PRD has been present not just under its party banner but also through its student, worker and urban poor organisations. They have been in the midst of the masses, propagandising continuously. PRD members have been leading some of the mass actions.
But the most important influence from the PRD has been through its program of demands and its methods of action. The influence of the radical groups, with their more radical demands and arguments for militant mass action as the method of struggle, is increasing.
Question: How do students view the moderate opposition group of the "Ciganjur four": Megawati Sukarnoputri, Amien Rais, Abdurrahman Wahid and the Sultan of Yogyakarta?
Only the FKSMJ has been obsessed with these figures. The students and society generally were very disappointed with their stand for the gradual elimination of the political role of the armed forces and acceptance of the legitimacy of the special session of the MPR.
The actions between November 10 and 14 opened people's eyes that it is possible to build a big movement without being dependent on the famous personalities.
Question: What are the main weaknesses of the movement at the moment?
The movement has produced no national leadership, recognised by the masses. There is no strong national organisation, and the general level of political consciousness is low.
But things have advanced considerably since May. The action fronts are very broad now. There has been an advance in consciousness, revealed in the demands and the methods of action.
The absence of a recognised leadership is one of the reasons that there can still be a tendency for the masses to look to the moderate opposition, despite their demands and strategy being very different from those of the mass movement.
Nevertheless, there is still enormous potential to mobilise people. One possible catalyst is the elections. The majority of the people still have illusions in the elections, but they reject the idea that the elections should be administered by the Habibie regime.
And the regime itself doesn't seem ready. There is still no election law and no election committee. Amien Rais, in an attempt to moderate the militancy of the masses, is pressing for the elections to be held earlier rather than later. This will put more pressure on the implementation.
The radicalisation will deepen and spread, and the loyal "opposition" will be increasingly frightened. Amien Rais now talks like the military, about how the movement has been "infiltrated" by radical forces who want to sabotage the elections with a "scorched earth" policy.
Both the regime and the loyal opposition want to retain the basic features of the old system, which is why they both defended the MPR. The struggle between those forces inside the system and outside the system will intensify.