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Mimbar Oposisi (Opposition Forum)
Number 2 – October 2003
[The following is a translation of the second issue of Mimbar Oposisi (Opposition Forum) the news letter of the People’s United Opposition Party (POPOR).]
The urgent need is to unite the people’s struggle
What ordinary people need at the moment is solidarity and unity between workers and the poor who have consistently struggled to maintain their rights. The concept of unity perhaps sounds simple, however we need to be aware of its importance in all aspects of our struggle, most of all in responding to the people’s movement at the moment.
Lately, more and more people have become victims of the savagery of the regime of President Megawati Sukarnoputri and Vice-president Hamzah Haz. Workers from the aircraft factory PT Dirgantara, PT Texmaco, Garuda airlines, PT Pos, Indosat and a series of other companies who have become the “protectors” of the regime’s policies, have conducted mass dismissals and privatisation which has no other meaning other than the plundering of the people’s assets. Thousands more workers have become the victims of dismissals in scores, perhaps hundreds of companies throughout the country – and soon hundreds of thousands even millions of workers will also become the victims of the savagery of the law on labour and the draft law on the settlement of industrial disputes (RUU PPHI).
The people of Kampung Baru and Jembatan Besi in Jakarta and who knows how many thousands of urban poor in other cities throughout the country have become victims of land evictions. The homes that they had built with great effort were flattened by bulldozers and their owners beaten and arrested. Their efforts were thrown into the garbage bin by the Jakarta provisional government. Clearly the majority came to Jakarta to look for employment as the backbone of the capital city’s economy with many working on projects such as the construction of buildings, roads, bridges or those who worked in the informal sector who support these workers (selling food and other basic needs). It is truly a case of enjoying the sweet part of a fruit and discarding the chewed remains.
Millions of farmers in the villages have also not escaped becoming victims of the water crisis, victims of the wave of imports and smuggling which is being allowed to continue freely by the authorities. Meanwhile, in order to prepare themselves to compete with imported products, agricultural subsidies which could help farmers have long since been abolished. It is truly a misfortune, especially so when for decades the agricultural development of the New Order [regime of former President Suharto] just turned rice farmers in the villages into milk cows for the New Order corrupters.
The other reality who’s importance cannot be ignored is an awareness – this cannot be questioned – that our economy and people are currently facing the savage exploitation by foreign capital. The adjustments to labour laws, the numerous mass dismissals, the wastage of subsidies on large companies, are all carried out in order to accommodate the interests of foreign capital. All of these measures are intended to assist the process of privatisation, the legalisation of contract work systems, weakening trade unions and the policy of maintaining cheap wages. This is the real spirit of the new labour laws.
The people are facing a new colonialism
However this new colonialism, that is foreign capital, cannot possibly oppress the people without a political system and the existence of political forces which wish to be made its tool, who are willing to give their service for the interests of this new colonialism. Megawati, the military, the [former state ruling party] Golkar, the remnants of the corrupt New Order bureaucrats, and also the National Awakening Party [of former President Abdurrahman Wahid] and the Justice Party (now the Justice and Prosperity Party), they are the ones who are serving the interests of this new colonialism.
They have never voiced any objection to the subsidy cuts, privatisation, liberalisation of food imports, land evictions, taken the side of farmers who’s land has been condemned or voiced the interests of the tens of millions of unemployed. In realty it is they who control political power though the People’s Consultative Assembly, the government, the courts and all of the institutions of power. One or two among them sometimes make a noise as if they are true patriots, however in reality this is only lip service, because it is not consistent and this pretence is no more than for the sake of the opportunistic goal of seeking power, drawing together support in the interest of their own political parties, primarily in the lead up to the 2004 general elections. Worse still, all of the electoral laws and regulations were drafted in order to benefit the elite parties of the oppressors and to ensure that they will win in the elections.
The growing mistrust of the people at the moment is turning into restlessness, and this restlessness is turning into anger. No sooner have people become victims of the viciousness of the regime than they launch into a bitter struggle. Increasingly, the people are loosing hope that the government will side with their interests. These struggles are also evidence that the people no longer trust the Mega-Hamzah government. From the bitterness of the people’s struggle at the moment, from the people’s demands which are not being fulfilled by those in power, we should, and it is appropriate for us to ask, “should this vicious regime be maintained?”
In order to answer this important question, there is an urgent need in the struggle which has yet to be fully realised. This is aside from the obvious progress in the struggle which has been reached, that more and more people are becoming the victims of the authorities and have no other choice but to struggle. As was shown by the resistance by Dirgantara and Teksmaco workers recently, then and in the days which followed. It is not an exaggeration to say that we are all being directed by conditions from which we cannot escape; from choosing either “struggle” or “poverty”. This is truly the correct demand and slogan of struggle in order to illustrate what must be done by the people. However, we and all of the victims of the authorities’ policies who have resisted in so many different places still fail in the face of the steps taken by the elite authorities to oppress the people.
The elite who are in power can unite to oppress the people, the elite who are in power can build the unity of political power among themselves, those in power can effectively take advantage of all the political means (their political parties, control of parliament, control of the administration, control of the courts). Conversely, why are the people who are united in their interests because together they are the victims of this power, still not unable to truly, honestly and fully be convinced that the unification of the struggle is a need which can no longer be delayed, convinced of the need to unify all of the people’s forces who are already conscious of the need to resist, to taking advantage of all the political means available to us. Like those in power we can also do this.
The isolation of the struggles, the disunity of the opposition forces which has been symptomatic of the past, whether it is understood or not, has proven to reduce the energy of the struggle and the capacity of the people’s movement. Certainly, there are times when these isolated and disunited struggles have brought results, however it has been no more than small and extremely limited changes which are only of a temporary nature. Like the example given by the authorities when they wanted to abolish fuel subsidies, when they saw the reaction, the scale of the people’s resistance, they were forced to delay the policy, or reduce the degree of the price increases.
Guided by the experience of the struggle so far, we are absolutely convinced that the march of our resistance, the march of the people’s struggle in resisting the oppression of the authorities will soon discover the only possible conclusion. That all the workers who have become the victims of dismissals, the workers who will soon become the victims of the law on labour and the draft law on the settlement of industrial disputes, all of the victims of land evictions, the tens of thousand of farmers who are being impoverished – who are resisting everywhere – will increasingly understand the need to unite. The faster we all unite and bring together the strength and the striking power of the people’s struggle, the greater the possibility that the struggle will be victorious. The more united we are the more we will build a political alternative for the people, whether this be to bring an end to the anti-people authorities immediately or later if the people feel they still need to wait for the results of the 2004 elections.
POPOR verification defeated by bureaucracy and intimidation
People’s United Opposition Party Statement – October 7, 2003
[The following is an abridged translation of a statement issued by the People’s United Opposition Party (POPOR) on October 7 following the announcement by the Department of Justice and Human Rights that the party had failed the verification process to be legally registered as a political party. As a result, POPOR along with 137 others from a total of 187 political parties, will not be able to participate in the 2004 general elections.]
First of all, we need to explain that up until this time, POPOR has yet to obtain an official explanation from the Department of Justice and Human Rights as to why POPOR did not pass the political party verification process. The only thing that is certain at this time is the actual results of the verification of POPOR’s structure by the Department at the national, regional, city and sub-district levels.
Considering the above, we feel the need to explain the findings during the actual process of verification and the results of the verification which were the basis for a decision by the Department to declare that POPOR had not passed the verification as a political party and a legal entity who’s rights are acknowledged by the government.
Based on the data that it has, POPOR’s central leadership board has concluded that there were two factors which caused POPOR’s failure to be verified as a political party. Firstly, external obstacles, that is from government officials, the bureaucracy and thugs hired by the established political parties. Secondly, internal obstacles, that is the internal structure of POPOR itself.
The first conclusion is based on reports form POPOR’s regional and city bodies both during the process of extending POPOR’s structure as well as the actual verification by the Department which indicates that POPOR was treated unfairly, undemocratically, was intimidated and had to face a corrupt bureaucratic structure. For example:
1. POPOR received undemocratic treatment from the bureaucracy in Garut, West Java, where the village administration and neighbourhood association (RT/RW) made it difficult to obtain a certificate of residency. Or the case where a government official responsible for verification in the city of Cilegon, West Java, intimidated and even used thugs who admitted they were from a Banten marshal arts club in order to force the Cilegon city POPOR members to resign. Their reason given was that no other parties except [the former state ruling] party Golkar are allowed in Cilegon. Other such cases occurred in the regencies of Gianyar, Denpasar, Badung and Jembrana in Bali. Similar cases also occurred in Nganjuk and Surabaya in East Java.
2. POPOR members were intimidated by thugs and police who were supporting the interests of the established parties. The intimidation and threats by thugs in Cilegon resulted POPOR members resigning from the POPOR structure in the city of Cilegon and all of POPOR’s structures in the Cilegon sub-district. Cases of intimidation also befell POPOR in Garut, where a member was stabbed by thugs. Although the incident was reported to local police the case was not pursued. In the city of Binjai, North Sumatra, city leadership board members was also intimidated and POPOR’s sign at its regency office damaged. Intimidation was also carried out by police. POPOR board members in Papua were arrested and chased by intelligence officers from the Jayapura police when they held a function to launch POPOR’s branch in West Papua.
3. POPOR received unfair treatment during the process of verification by government officials, primarily during the verification process at the city level. Many cases occurred where the government officials did not arrive in accordance with the announced schedule or where officials arrived early or late. This had the consequence of POPOR members not being able to complete the verification process in the cities and sub-districts because they were not present during the verification. In fact in financial terms and because of other commitments, it was not an easy matter for POPOR sub-district members to arrive from remote areas to the city regency. These kind of cases occurred in Karawang (West Java), Temanggung (Central Java), Sidoarjo (East Java) and a number of other places.
4. POPOR had to deal with bureaucratic and corrupt structures. This was the fault of government officials in Central Java where POPOR was asked to complete deficiencies in the verification requirements which were caused by negligence by the government officials themselves, such as arriving late for an agreed appointment or obstacles to communication between the Department of Justice and Human Rights at the national and regional level. In one case a government official asked for 1 million rupiah ($US 120) if POPOR wanted to pass the verification process in Central Java. Other cases occurred in Banyuwangi, East Java, where the sub-district bureaucracy asked for between 5000 and 50,000 thousand rupiah for a certificate of residency. Similar cases occurred in almost all cities with village administrations, village heads and the RT/RW.
The second conclusion, or the internal factors, are based on the consideration that there are still many POPOR leadership board members, primarily in the regencies and cities who are new activists. Faced with all of these external obstacles such as dealing with bureaucrats and undemocratic government officials, or dealing with a corrupt bureaucratic structure, they were not up to the task and chose to resign, rather than fighting on or fulfilling the requests of the corrupt bureaucrats.
In response to the announcement by the Department of Justice and Human Rights which stated that POPOR had not passed the verification requirements as a political party and legal entity which is acknowledged by the government, the Central Leadership Body of POPOR is of the opinion that this was because POPOR received undemocratic treatment from the bureaucracy, the established parties, the verification officials from the Department along with intimidation by the police and paid thugs.
Therefore, to defend its democratic rights POPOR will file a suit against:
Jakarta, October 7, 2003
Central Leadership Board
People’s United Opposition
Party
s/- Dita Indah Sari
General Chairperson
Donny Pradana
Secretary General
Action updates
Intimidation by Jayapura police
On August 18 at 8am, POPOR planned to launch the party at the Imby Numbay park in Jayapura. Around the same time as the planned launch, West Papua POPOR secretary Jefrison A Pagawak was arbitrarily detained on ground made up by the police and asked for information about the local political situation. Jefrison was not released until 4pm the next day.
Before leaving the police office, Jefrison protested to the Jayapura police because they had blocked the democratic rights of the Papuan people to organise and as a member of a legal political party which is participating in the verification process.
Jefrison then began gathering up participants, many which had gone home because he had been arrested and at 6pm around 1000 people continued with the launch of the party. Throughout the proceedings, scores of plain clothed police (intelligence officers) were present who glared at and questioned participants.
Following the declaration, when the POPOR regional secretary and chairperson went home together by bus, they were followed by two intelligence officers until they arrived in Abe at around 8.30pm. They continued to be followed on they way home to Sentani. On hearing this, POPOR members and sympathisers who had attended the declaration followed the intelligence officers until they were forced to return to their headquarters.
Alternative film showing in Bali broken up
Democracy in Indonesia is truly narrow. Especially so in Bali, where the government should show its democratic intentions in Indonesia, where the muzzling of cultural activities also occurs.
In greeting Armed Forces Day on October 5, the Anti-War Committee organised a film showing of New Rulers of the World directed by John Pilger, a former war correspondent and Australian film director. The event was held at the location of the Bali bombing (“ground zero”) on Jalan Legian, Kuta Beach.
Only half of the film had been shown however when intelligence officers, the Kuta Social Consultative Institute and the Legian Banjar (Neighbourhood Association) arrived and broke up the event. Their reason being that the event did not have permission from the local Banjar, a traditional social structure which is often used by the regime to repress democratic activities.
It is absolutely clear that this occurred because of provocation by intelligence offices from the Bali local police, because a number of previous events, particularly those linked with the Kuta Carnival (a series of activities which were held to commemorate the October 12 Bali bombing) were able to proceed at the same location without permission from the village authorities. Evidence of this provocation is also strengthened by the intimidation against the event’s organising committee in the days before. Moreover, the day before the event, security officers also insisted on obtaining a copy of the film.
The Film New Rulers of the World is a documentary which tells the story of the impact and development of globalisation in Indonesia, particularly in the labour sector. The film also provides a brief explanation of the militaristic dictatorship of the New Order in relation to the interference of foreign capital in the slaughter of the people’s movement in the years 1965-19661.
Notes
1. On the night of September 30, a group of middle-ranking military officers kidnapped and killed six generals they accused of organising a coup against Indonesia's President Sukarno. By blaming the incident on the Indonesian Communist Party, this provided the pretext for sections of the military, led by then Major General Suharto, to mount a bloody counter-revolution in which as many as 1 million communists and left wing sympathisers were killed, and hundreds of thousands of others interned.
Mimbar Oposisi
Mimbar Oposisi (Opposition Forum) is published by the Central Leadership Board of the People’s United Opposition Party (POPOR).[Translated by James Balowski.]Editorial board: Dita Indah Sari, Doni Pradana, Yusuf Lakaseng, Sulaeman, Heru Atmodjo and Roysepta Abimanyu.
Address: Jl Tebet Dalam ID No 9
Jakarta Seletan 12810.E-mail: persatuan_oposisi@mail.com