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Strengthen
the people's unity – oppose a president from the military
[The following is a translation from Pembebasan (Liberation) News Letter Number 13, May 2004, the official news letter of the People’s Democratic Party (PRD).]
By Yusuf Lakaseng
Competition for presidential elections on July 5 has begun in earnest. And it seems the campaigners, the political parties, have already forgotten the promises they made during the recent legislative election campaign.
Now, all their energy, attention and obviously finances are being concentrated on winning the positions of president and vice-president. There is incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri, there are figures who claim to be reformists – National Mandate Party (PAN) chairperson Amien Rais and former President Gus Dur (Abdurrahman Wahid). There are also two retired generals, former armed forces chief Wiranto and former coordinating minister for politics and security Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY).
All are competing to be number one. But will any one of them be able to bring Indonesian out of its ongoing political and economic crisis? Why does the military promote the blood soaked hands of former generals? What must be done by democratic movement today? Who are the people’s enemy?
Distrust in the ruling elite
Although the results of legislative elections which were held in April are not yet fully complete, the temporary results show several changes.
Unlike the 1999 elections, Megawati’s Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) is no longer on top. The number of votes for the PDI-P and other major parties such as the United Development Party (PPP) have declined drastically. In 1999 PDI-P won 34% of the vote. This time round it was only able to gain 19%. PPP, which ranked third in the 1999 election, has dropped to fourth place. The former state ruling party of Suharto’s New Order dictatorship, the Golkar Party, is now in first position, although the number of votes it received declined from 24% to 22%.
Only the Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) - an Islamic party was able to increase its vote. SBY’s Democratic party – a newly registered party – was also able to obtain a much large vote than expected.
Most people think that major parties which came out of the 1999 elections who make up the coalition government of President Megawati and Vice-president Hamzah Haz are not to be trusted. This is hardly surprising since none of policies produced by the Mega-Hamzah government have benefited the poor. Rather they have benefited the rich and the interests of imperialism. Less and less people are therefore voting for the major parties.
And because people are yet to recognise the role of the extra-parliamentary forces, it is not surprising that people have turned to PKS and the Democratic Party – although the character of both parties is not very different from PDIP and Golkar. However we should not be too quick in blaming the people’s level of political consciousness. Rather, it highlights the fact that democratic movement, the extra-parliamentary movement, has not been able to be develop as an alternative political force.
Another way in which people have expressed their distrust is by deciding not to votes at all. In Indonesia a decision not to vote is known as Golput – an acronym for Golongan Putih, literally meaning “white group” – which was coined to describe people who choose not mark their ballot papers or mark the white section of the paper instead. It is estimated that 30 million people did not cast a vote. In Jakarta alone, 3 million people chose not to vote. At a press conferences by the General Election Commission they argued that large number of unregistered people had contributed to the decline in voter numbers. However we should not be too easily deceived by this argument, the decline in the number of people voting is a result of the fact that people no longer believe that elections will be solve the nation’s problems.
People sense of apathy is a result of their conviction that the elections would not release them from poverty or bring justice and democracy. Although this was not demonstrated in action, the decline in votes going to the major parties and the surge in popularity of the new parties like PKS and the Democratic Party show that the people’s level consciousness has grown. They wanted change. It also supports the view that what people really need is an alternative to political power won through elections.
In a situation where the political and economic crisis is deepening, where poverty levels are growing, prices are increasing, the cost of education and health care is becoming beyond may people’s reach, the continuing military abuses in Aceh and West Papua, the people need an alternative. One which is able to answer the people’s urgent problems. What is needed now is the ability and courage of the democratic forces to accommodate the people’s restlessness and enthusiasm for change. If the democratic forces fail to provide an alternative to combat the people’s apathy, discontent and anger, if the fake reformists, the cowards, remain unwilling to unite with the broader democratic force, then this will open the way for the reemergence of the military.
The emergence of Wiranto and SBY – two generals with blood on their hands – highlights the growing confidence of the military and those forces who have their backing.
Ever since Indonesia won independence from Dutch colonial rule in 1945, the military has attempted to intervene in political life and tirelessly worked to oppress civil rights. This peaked in the bloody coup of 1965 in which as many as 1 million communists and left-wing sympathisers were killed and thousands more interned without trial and which brought Suharto and the military to power. The military united with the reactionary forces, international capital, reactionary student groups and right-wing forces (both Christian and Islamic) to overthrow Indonesia’s founding president Sukarno and bring the Suharto dictatorship to power. The military took total control of people’s political, economic and social lives and its capitalistic militarism heralded the destruction of the people and nation.
We cannot not easily forget, the period when the democratic forces were at their weakest, when people were being slaughtered all across the country – Aceh, East Timor, Lampung1, Tanjung Priok2, West Papua, Marsinah3, July 274, Semanggi5, Trisakti6. Indonesian was truly drenched in blood and tears.
The student movement’s success in striking back at the military during reform struggle in 1999 has been betrayed by the fake democrats – Megawati, Amien Rais, Sultan Hamengkubuono X and Gus Dur. While students fought for the demand to abolish military and police’s dual political and social role – the democrats struck a compromise with the military at what is now know as the Ciganjur meeting7. This was the beginning of fake democrats’ betrayal and created the conditions which are now allowing the military to slowly to return to power and again control the lives the Indonesian people.
This betrayal was added to when the fake democrats rose to power. The compromises with military become more palpable. Although the number of seats allocated to the military in the People’s Representative Assembly were reduced, there was never any real action taken to the punish human rights violators – against former generals such as SBY who was involve in the slaughter of PDIP members in the July 27 attack on the PDI-P headquarters and Wiranto who as chief of the armed forces was responsible for the mass killings in of East Timor and the murder of student protestors at Semanggi and Trisakti. Both are not only free and unable to be touched by the law but are now running as presidential candidates.
Both proudly proclaim that as former generals they have the strength, determination and experience to bring Indonesia out of the present crisis. Their pleasant countenances in the campaign posters and costly advertisements remind us of Suharto’s unfulfilled promises and smile8 that ultimately brought bloodshed and suffering to his people.
The reemergence of militarism has become more obvious under the Megawati government. This began during the effort to remove Gus Dur from the presidency and replace him with Megawati which was done through an outrageous alliance between the military, PDI-P, Golkar, the fake reformists and international capital. In return, Megawati granted the military “privileges” which had been taken from them by student reform movement in 1998 and opened the way for the military to again intervene in politics and oppresses the people.
Megawati’s government has cut subsidies to health and education, but at the same time increased the state budget’s expenditure on the military. The Megawati government has taken the people’s money to buy weapons, war plane to kill her own people. The military’s territorial command structure9 has also been expanded.
Student protesters are again facing militaristic violence and many have been sentence to jail. And as simply as Megawati put her signature to the declaration of martial law in Aceh, she turned it into a land of mass slaughter.
Ironically, all of the fake democrats in parliament, including Gus Dur’s National Awakening Party (PKB), PAN and PKS, remained silent when the government sent troops into to Aceh. Only when Israel killed Palestinians and in opposition to the US war against Iraq did PKS mobilise its members in protest. Ironically, although majority of Achenese are Muslims, the PKS was defenseless in the face of the government’s pretext of implementing martial law as the only option to eliminate the armed separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) even though martial law has resulted in the death of many more innocent civilians then members of GAM. The opportunism and cowardice of the fake democrats who cry out for military support are the source of the disaster that is bringing the military back to power.
And it is clear that we can’t rely on new parties like the Democratic Party which is promoting SBY as president to contain the military since it was Yudhoyono himself who was the architect of martial law in Aceh.
The opposition forces however, remain small and reluctant to unite in the struggle to destroy militarism. Sectarianism and opportunism are undermining its energy and strength to resist the military.
The political parties whose claim to be the opposition: The Freedom Bull National Party, the Pioneer Party, the Socialist Democratic Labor Party and Indonesia Unity Party are also reluctant to unite with broader forces. It was this failure to unite in a broader opposition movement that was the principle reason they received so few votes in the legislative elections. Because they are also half-hearted in their opposition to the military they are in reality not very different from the other fake democrats. They never opposed the implementation of martial law in Aceh and have remained silent as people’s wealth has been used to purchase weapons. Their success in being registered as political parties who could participate in the legislative elections provided them with wider access to speak to the people during the at election campaign but they failed to use the opportunity to raise the issue of the military’s threat to democracy, they didn’t use it to express their opposition to military.
Unite the oppose the reemergence of the military
The unwillingness of the opposition to unite has weakened the democratic forces. Their lack of a real program and reluctance to unite in action opened the way for military’s reemergence and Golkar’s electoral victory. Today’s our enemy is clear: the military. And the threat of the military’s reemergence is right before our eyes. However a broader movement against militarism which has a wider and more developed structure has yet to become a reality.
More recently the fake democrats have begin to talk as if they against militarism. The fact is however, that it is simply because of the threat that the military represents to their chance of becoming president. Initially, Megawati was happy to get assistance from military to oust Gus Dur and win the presidency. Now, as two former generals have appeared as presidential candidates (with SBY and Wiranto far ahead of Megawati in the polls), they have begin to campaign against presidential candidates from the military.
The new movement that has emerged against the military was initiated by students. On April 24 in the South Sulawesi provincial of Makassar, over 5,000 students rallied to commemorate the bloody tragedy in Makassar10 declaring their opposition to militarism, opposing presidential candidates from the military and demanding that the military return to the barracks. In Jakarta student groups burnt Golkar flags and military uniforms. The anti-military movement also emerged in the Javanese cities of Yogyakarta, Surabaya and Bandung. The emergence of the movement against militarism at this time is appropriate and represents an opportunity to consolidate and broaden the democratic movement throughout the country.
In response to the small number of votes they received, instead of acknowledging that this was a result of their failure to unite with broader opposition forces, on April 30 the smaller parties formed an alliance to campaign for a clean election and declared an alternative figure for president.
This effort to unite should be congratulated since at first they had not even considered such a move. Unfortunately their concept of unity has remain sectarian and restricted to the political parties which gained 5% of vote and are therefore be able nominate a presidential candidate and compete against Golkar and PDIP.
It would be far better if they broadened the alliance to include extra-parliamentary forces to oppose militarism. History has already shown that alone, those in parliament will not be able to defeat PDIP, Golkar and military. It seems they haven’t realised this or understand the threat of military.
A movement against militarism united in putting forward a non-military presidential candidate must be built. A people’s unity is the only way to defeat militarism and the parliamentary forces must put aside their goal of wining power and unite with the extra-parliamentary forces to oppose militarism.
The PKB, PAN, PKS and the other minor parties, the student movement, the farmer’s movement, the urban poor, non-government organisations and all democratic forces must unite to defeat the enemies of democracy. And it is becoming ever more clear who that enemy is, who it its which must be defeated: Wiranto, his political machine the Golkar Party and Megawati. These are the three principle enemies of democracy who must be defeated.
The primary task of this people’s united front is to open up and to maintain democratic space from the threat of the military. Historical experience notes how difficult the struggle was to overthrow the militaristic capitalist regime of Suharto – a regime which was able to rule for 32 years. It is absolutely necessary therefore to oppose militarism now because if they are allowed to return to power the people will again be the victims and it will take an enormous about of energy and power to defeat them. This task cannot be delayed any longer.
This people’s united front should propose and put forward alternative presidential and vice-presidential candidates who will campaign around the tactical and strategic aims formulated by the front. Should they win the presidency they would be obliged to implement these programs and polices – to keep their promises to the people – not betray them as the fake reformists have.
One of the weakness of this movement is that so far, this kind of unity, a united front, a tactical alliance, has only just started to come into reality in Jakarta. It’s impact remains therefore limited and it must be broadened out – reaching into people’s homes, their neighbourhoods, the factories and villages. This is necessary in order to be able to explain to the people that militarism is on the rise and why it must be defeated now.
The last five years of reformasi since the overthrow of Suharto has not unfortunately improved people’s welfare. As a result many people are under the illusion that Indonesia needs a strong president, a president from the military to solve the country’s problems. Convincing people that this wrong and the need to oppose the reemergence of militarism is will be a difficult but essential task of such a united movement.
From a united front to a people’s united government
The enormous problems of poverty, unemployment, the high cost of education and health services, the lack of housing, must be solved immediately. A people’s united movement will only be able to address and resolve these issues if its able to establish a people’s united government. A government that is able to control the executive, legislative and judicial wings of government. The power of the enemies of the people will remain intact within the parliament if we are only able to control who becomes president, who holds executive power.
The government of Gus Dur is a good example. Various programs which Gus Dur tried to implement such as disbanding the Golkar Party and curtailing the power of the military were unable to be completed due to the remnants of the New Order who dominated the parliament and judicial system. As a result Gus Dur was impeached by an opportunist alliance between the fake reformist, the remnants of the New Order and the military in the People’s Consultative Assembly.
A people’s united government will not restrict its program to anti–militarism. Its must also struggle against neo-liberalism, imperialism and be able to eliminate corruption and improve the people’s welfare – create jobs, improve education and health and provide affordable housing. A united movement of the people must adhere to its tactical and strategic program if it is to be successful in building a people’s united government.
Notes:
1. On February 7, 1989, as many as 100 people were killed when troops surrounded a village in Lampung, South Sumatra, and opened fire and set fire to homes. The government claimed the villagers were members of a “deviant” Muslim sect and that troops were “defending themselves”. Local people assert that the victims were unarmed farmers defending their land which was to be taken over by business person linked to the family of former President Suharto.
2. On 12 September 1984, dozens of people were killed and injured when troops fired on Muslim demonstrators in the port district of Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta.
3. Marsinah was a women activist who led a strike at the PT Catur Putra Surya watch factory in Surabaya, East Java. On May 8, 1993, three days after the strike, her body was found in a remote hut. The medical examination found that she had died as a result of injuries inflicted during torture. Although there was considerable circumstantial evidence that she had been kidnapped and killed by the military, in 1994 nine managerial personnel and security guards from the factory were tried and convicted of the murder. All of the defendants claimed that they had been tortured in order to extract confessions. On May 5, 1995, all nine were released.
4. Following Megawati Sukarnoputri's popular election as chairperson of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) in 1996, the Suharto regime, who feared a PDI lead Megawati (who could draw upon the tremendous popularity of her father Sukarno, the founding president of Indonesia) might threaten the state party Golkar's dominance in the upcoming 1997 elections, sponsored a rebel PDI congress in Medan, North Sumatra, and succeeded in replacing her with their own pro-regime candidate, Suryadi. Following weeks of protests and the occupation of party's headquarters in central Jakarta by pro-Megawati PDI supporters, on July 27 paid thugs backed by the military attacked and destroyed the PDI offices resulting in the death of as many as 50 people. Popular outrage at the attack sparked several days of mass rioting and violent clashes with police which was blamed on the People's Democratic Party, who's members were hunted down and arrested as the masterminds behind the riots.
5. On May 12, 1998, security personnel shot into a crowd of student protesters from the Trisakti University near their campus in West Jakarta, killing four students and injuring several. This proved to be the spark which set-off three days of mass demonstrations and rioting in Jakarta which eventually lead to the overthrow of Suharto.
6. On November 13, 1998, troops opened fire on demonstrators from the Atmajaya University in Jakarta using rubber bullets and live ammunition in the area of Semanggi, South Jakarta, resulting in the death of more than 10 people.
7. The Ciganjur Declaration was signed by Wahid, Rais, Megawati and Sultan Hamengkubowono IX at the height of the anti-Suharto protests in 1998. One of the points in the declaration was that they would give the military six years to relinquish its political role, specifically its seats in parliament.
8. Former President Suharto was dubbed the “Smiling General” after the title of his biography.
9. The TNI's territorial command structure mandates the deployment of military command posts and detachments at all levels of the civil administration: provincial, district, sub-district and village. This structure provides the organisational framework for the TNI to act as a political security force at all levels of society.
10. In October 2000, police had used live ammunition and rubber bullets on thousands of students from various universities in South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar who were protesting fuel price increases. Some 18 students were detained. The students in turn took six public servants hostage and demanded that the governor, Palaguna, apologise for the excessive use of force.
[Translated by Katarina Puji Astuti. Edited by James Balowski.]