By James Balowski
Over the past week, thousands have rallied in cities across Indonesia in support of Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) leader Megawati Sukarnoputri, who was removed as chairperson of PDI by a government-orchestrated special congress in Medan, North Sumatra. The largest of the demonstrations, held on June 20 in central Jakarta, ended in a violent clash between demonstrators and security forces in which four PDI members were killed and more than 100 others injured and arrested. These are largest and most violent demonstrations in the city since 1974.
A week later, with Suryadi formally installed as PDI chairperson by the special congress, Megawati and her supporters have remained defiant. As early as June 21, riot troops had begun surrounding the party's Jakarta headquarters and most believed they were only waiting for Suryadi's "election" to be announced to move in and forcibly evict Megawati and her supporters. But so far the government seems hesitant to initiate the confrontation.
Television images of troops beating demonstrators to the ground, striking them repeatedly as they lay helpless, forced the Australian media to acknowledge that something was "wrong". A June 26 editorial in the Australian, for example, lamented that "Indonesia's incremental policy to graft more liberal principles to its institutions has taken another turn for the worse", and: "The ousting of Mrs Megawati is a discouraging move. It is also a reflection of the existing [political] system."
Although the Australian media were able to draw the links between Megawati's popularity and the legacy of her father Sukarno, the first president of Indonesia, they seemed at a loss to explain where it had all suddenly come from. These same media have ignored the rising tide of discontent which has been growing in Indonesia over the last few years and more significantly, the re-emergence of the left as a leading force in Indonesian politics.
In an interview carried in the Student Solidarity for Indonesian Democracy (SMID) newsletter Suara Massa (Popular Voice), the chairperson of the People's Democratic Party (PRD), Budiman Sudjatmiko, explained that government attempts to unseat Megawati have provided an opening for the broader opposition movement to link up with the PDI. "[People] are sick of the actions taken by the New Order against political forces supported by the people ... this represents a momentum which can be used to attack the political structure of the New Order regime", said Budiman.
PRD, which is made up of members of SMID, PPBI (Indonesian Centre for Labour Struggles), STN (National Peasants' Association) and JAKER (People's Cultural Network), along with PDI members, has been leading actions supporting Megawati in a number of cities. On June 14, PDI and PRD members from the central Java cities of Semarang, Solo, Batang, Pekalongan and Boyolali rallied under the PRD flag. In the industrial city of Surabaya in east Java, more than 1000 PDI and PRD members demonstrated on June 17 in the name of BPM (Megawati Support Guard), receiving enthusiastic support from onlookers and bringing some 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ of the city to a stand still. On the same day, thousands more PDI and SMID members demonstrated in Yogyakarta, central Java.
On June 18, PDI and PRD members staged what was perhaps the largest demonstration ever in Salatiga, central Java. On the same day, PPBI workers under the PRD flag mobilised around 4000 workers from the PT King Stone and PT Indo Shoes factories in Tangerang and Bogor, who staged a sit-in at the national parliament in Jakarta. Supporting Megawati as well as raising demands for increased wages, workers remained until midnight, when were forcibly evicted by the military. Many were badly beaten and a number seriously injured.
The day before the June 20 clashes in Jakarta, PDI and PRD members organised a rally from the PDI offices to the National Monument in Jakarta. At the same time, the previous day's PPBI action was resumed. This time, however, the military were prepared and the gates to the grounds were locked and guarded, and workers were unable to enter. Undeterred, they took the rally to the Ministry of Labour, where two PRD members were later abducted and interrogated by the military.
On June 20 in Lampung, Sumatra, 350 people from a number of organisations held a demonstration. One SMID member was later arrested by the military and his family harassed.
PRD's role in these demonstrations has enabled it to raise broader and more concrete political demands such as the withdrawal of repressive political laws controlling elections, mass organisations and the political parties, an end to dwifungsi, the political role of the military in society, and to allow Megawati to stand as a presidential challenger.
Over the last few months, an increasing number of pro-democracy organisations have begun to pressure Megawati and the PDI not only to run a stronger and more critical election campaign for the 1997 general elections, but to publicly announce that she will nominate herself as a presidential candidate. Earlier in the year, a group of MPs within PDI distributed forms and a letter encouraging her nomination.
Wilson, coordinator of the Indonesian People's Solidarity Struggle with the Maubere People (SPRIM), and who was involved in coordinating the action from the PDI offices during the Jakarta demonstrations, told 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly that regardless of the final outcome of the leadership struggle, for the Indonesian democratic movement the regime's actions against Megawati have had a number positive consequences.
"The regime is becoming more inclined to respond to political challenges by direct intervention, or violence, and this clearly exposed the lack of political confidence on the part of Suharto and those 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ of the armed forces [ABRI] which support him", he said.
He explained that the polarisation between the PDI members who support Megawati and the opportunist elements behind Suryadi has strengthened Megawati's position to the extent that she no longer needs to make compromises with the pro-government factions in the party. In key cities such as Jakarta and Surabaya, it has created a momentum of protest which has the capacity to draw in large numbers of people who are dissatisfied with the regime.
This process will heighten the increasingly public conflicts within the elite. In particular, Wilson cited the military and Wahono factions within the state party Golkar, those officers close to the minister of defence, Edi Sudrajat, and the clique around minister of information Harmoko and the military, led by ABRI chief Faisal Tanjung.
Wilson believes that, although it depends on how long Megawati is able to continue the mobilisations, "Factions around people such as Edi and Wahono will become more confident in their moves against the Suharto clique". Instead of consolidating his political position before the 1997 general elections, Suharto has consolidated the extra-parliamentary opposition forces and created a symbol of popular opposition.
Nico Warouw, international officer for the PRD, who is in Australia for a national speaking tour organised by ASIET (Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor), told 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly that PRD has sought to assist worker initiatives in support of Megawati.
He explained that the experiences gained by workers in these political actions, as distinct from those gained in strikes and demonstrations for better wages and conditions, prepare workers to begin to lead the pro-democracy movement. "Strikes and labour demonstrations in Indonesia have continued to increase in size, frequency and militancy since 1989. Workers give a broader political protest and greater consistency and resolve. Jakarta is surrounded by industrial zones such as Tangerang and Bekasi, which enables us to take the worker mobilisations straight to the economic and political heart of the regime."
The president is "elected" by the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) every five years. The MPR usually meets about a year after general elections for 400 members of the House of Representatives (DPR), the remaining 100 being appointed from the military. The MPR comprises all 500 members of the DPR plus another 500 members appointed by the (outgoing) president. Suharto has never faced a rival candidate since the first elections held in 1971. So although he cannot be removed by public vote, if an announcement of Megawati's nomination is made soon, it has the potential to turn the DPR elections into the first round of a "referendum" for the presidency.
All of this has been occurring in a climate of growing discontent. The question of the presidential succession has become a major focus of the desire for change. Ironically, this sentiment has grown out of the very economic and political conditions created by the regime itself.
The rapid industrialisation and integration of the Indonesian economy into the international market initiated in the late 1970s has led to a sharp increase in the size of the middle class and the urban working class — both of which are now demanding more political and democratic freedoms.
This process has also alienated Suharto's traditional allies: ABRI, the business and land-owning class, political Islam and students. Although ABRI remains a significant force in Indonesian society, it has been increasingly excluded from any real economic or political decision making. New generations of students have developed into long-term critics of the regime. Political Islam has been marginalised and its role in Indonesian society diminished. Even 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ of Indonesian domestic capital — frustrated by the Suharto family and its associated conglomerates' domination of the economy — want change.
This broad sentiment for change has also been expressed in the formation of new political organisations and parties. At a congress in April the PRD — then called the Peoples' Democratic Union — transformed itself into a political party. Since then, PRD has been linking political demands for democracy with the economic demands of the workers and peasants.
In the same month, a broad range of democratic forces banded together to form the Independent Committee for Election Monitoring (KIPP). Its presidium is chaired by Gunawan Muhammad, former editor of the banned Tempo magazine. Mulyana W. Kusumah of the Legal Aid Institute has been elected secretary-general. Other presidium members include Budiman Sujatmiko, PRD chairperson, and Beathor Suryadi from PIJAR (Centre for Democratic Action and Reform). Outspoken political figures such as Haji Princen, Sri Bintang Pamungkas and Muhktar Pakpahan have thrown their weight behind the project, as have a wide range of intellectuals, church figures and non-government community development officials.
More recently, sacked PPP parliamentarian Pamungkas, who is now facing a jail sentence for insulting the president, has formed the Indonesian United Democratic Party (PUDI).