[Marxism] 10 Years after the Fall of Suharto - Views from the People’s Organisations
James Balowski
jamesbalowski at yahoo.com
Mon Aug 18 03:23:32 MDT 2008
10 Years after the Fall of Suharto - Views from the
People’s Organisations
Journal of Unity - May 2008
[The following is a translation of a series of 12
interviews with leaders of labour, peasant,
fisherpeople, urban and rural poor, environmental,
student and social-political organisations in
Indonesia around the theme “Ten Years after the Fall
of Suharto - Views from the People’s Organisations”,
which appeared in the first edition of Jurnal
Bersatu (Journal of Unity).]
Labour organisations
1. Sastro, Chairperson Workers Challenge Alliance
(ABM)
2. Lqbal, President of the Indonesian Metal Trade
Workers Federation (FSPMI)
Peasant Organisations
1. Donny, National Peasants Union (STN)
2. Iwan, Agrarian Reform Consortium (KPA)
3. Rully, Indonesian Farmers Union (SPI)
Fisherpeople’s organisations
Arbani Nikahi, Chairperson Saijaan Fishers Union
(INSAN)
Urban and rural poor organisations
Marlo, General Chairperson Indonesian Poor People’s
Union (SRMI)
Student organisations
Ken, Indonesian Student Union (SMI)
Environmental organisations
Andreat, General Secretary Green Indonesia Union
(SHI)
Social-political organisations
1. Irwansyah, Secretary General Working People’s
Association (PRP)
2. Zely Ariane, Spokesperson People’s Democratic
Party-Political Committee of the Poor (KPRM-PRD)
3. Harris Sitorus, Secretary General National
Liberation Party of Unity (Papernas)
---------------------
Introduction
The following discussion was written based on
interviews conducted by Jurnal Bersatu (Journal of
Unity) editorial staff with a number of people’s
organisations. The spectrum and “political
groupings” along with the sectors and class of
organisation were several of the considerations in
the choice of the groups that were interviewed.
Nevertheless there were two organisations -- the
People’s Movement Alliance for Agrarian Reform
(AGRA) and the United People’s Party (PPR) who on
the eve of the publication of this journal were
unable to be interviewed.
Labour organisations
1. Sastro, Chairperson Workers Challenge Alliance
(ABM)
The situation for workers 10 after the fall of
Suharto
Indonesia’s economic situation is deteriorating
because of the existence of imperialism through
economic liberalisation. In the labour field, this
economic liberalism is manifesting itself in systems
of labour market flexibility, which are practiced
through revising regulations, in particular the
packet of three labour laws. One of the impacts of
this is the legalising of contract labour and
outsourcing, which continues to decimate workers,
for example, through mass dismissals.
Urgent issues facing the labour movement
There are three labour issues that are urgent: 1)
opposing systems of contract labour and outsourcing;
2) increasing wages and; 3) the freedom of
association. The problems of outsourcing and
contract labour are central, because these systems
result in low wages and the loss of workers’ other
rights such as food allowances and so forth.
The current state of the labour movement
The concerns of the working class in response to the
poor labour conditions has stimulated the
consolidation of the labour movement. ABM itself is
one example of this. The ABM has produced an anti-
neoliberalism program that contains four basic
ideas: 1) the repudiation of the foreign debt; 2)
the nationalisation of vital state assets; 3) the
development of a strong national industry and; 4)
the eradication of corruption and the seizure of
corruptors’ assets for the people. So there is a
green light for unity among the labour movements in
Indonesia.
Aims of the struggle
The aim of the struggle for Sastro is the working
class gaining power, because as long as this power
is in the hands of a regime that is anti-worker and
anti-people, no matter how good the concepts or laws
that are proposed it will undoubtedly be defeated
politically. In order to confront this, the labour
movement needs its own party, that is a working
class party, rather than joining the existing
parties, because the politics of these partes are
not the politics of the working class and by joining
them it will result in us being dragged into their
politics.
Building a party requires patience and a process.
Currently, where the struggle is still being carried
out by mass organisations or trade unions, this
stage requires producing advanced cadre though trade
unions. It is this cadre that will go on to build a
future labour party. If a labour party already
exists, will it want to take the road to revolution
or electoralism, that is one of the choices that
will be considered.
Labour movement unity
In its tactics or program, there are actually
similarities between the various trade unions that
already exist, so its not an obstacle to unity. The
obstacles are: 1) cooption of sections of the trade
union leadership for the interests of the elite that
results in the compartmentalisation of the labour
movement. But this is something that is currently
improving, because there is pressure from below, the
interests of which are indeed different from the
interests of the elite; 2) the problem of existence
that is still high, and; 3) the problem of trust.
This last issue is in fact not easy to overcome. For
example, the tendency is that the ABM is often seen
as radical and the culture of ABM’s actions are
different from those that are usually undertaken by
other trade unions, which has indeed generated a
kind of gap. But actually this may very well be very
easy to straighten out.
Building unity just through meetings at the elite
level is difficult, because the elite find it
difficult to issue instructions to the lower levels,
whether they be to the provincial level or
industrial zones. So, these national meetings should
be strengthened by meetings at lower levels, so that
unity truly becomes a mutual necessity and is
maintained jointly. Aside from this, meetings should
be programmatic in character and not just about
tactics or actions. Meaning there are specific
targets as well as time frames for their fulfilment,
so that they can be jointly evaluated and the
weaknesses jointly corrected.
Now, in order to achieve the aim of working class
power, the working class cannot do this alone and
must cooperate with farmers, fisherpeople, students
and progressive intellectuals who are in accord with
the working class. The things that can be done to
make this a reality are: 1) preparing or registering
advanced cadres from various regions to be united
within a party, and 2) each sector formulate its
individual concepts as a joint platform. The other
issue that needs to be considered is discussing and
debating the concept of national industrialisation,
that up until now has not been elaborated upon
properly.
The need for a political party
There is actually an urgent need for a political
party, because the absence of a working class
political party disorientates the working class.
Within trade unions or the mass bass itself they are
actually already fed up with the parties and forces
that exist. Several times now those in power have
been replaced, but there is still no change, whereas
the current economic situation is getting no easier.
It’s just that the legacy of Suharto’s New Order
regime still creates illusions among the lower and
working classes that they can only work, they cannot
hold political power. In addition to this, there are
also illusions in the “entrapments” of the existing
parties, such as the populist appearance of certain
parties.
Then there is the discourse about the need for a
political party that that is taking place within the
movement itself, which is actually flowering, even
in the regions, and which has been very much helped
by the direct election of regional heads (pilkada).
But what is becoming a problem is precisely the
doubts within the movement itself. Similarly, there
is often talk within the movement that a party is
just jargon, but has failed in its implementation.
What is needed is to talk about a party in a way
that is simple and non-jingoistic, so it can be
understood and generate a positive response from the
people.
The 2009 elections
Sastro is pessimistic about the 2009 legislative and
presidential elections, because while it already
very close the movements have yet to prepare
themselves for the moment. Now with regard to
elements of the movement who are interested in
taking part in the elections, such as the National
Liberation Party of Unity (Papernas) or plans by
activists to join the large parties, they have a
very small chance of passing verification or winning
if they are not supported by the movement. Even if
they succeed in becoming members of the House of
Representatives (DPR) or the Regional House of
Representatives (DPRD), how does the movement
control them, in order that they are not controlled
by the existing bourgeois parties. No matter how
leftist an activist is, if there is no control by a
collective with a strong mass basis, then it is very
possible that they will completely dragged into
bourgeois politics. Departing from the two
conditions above, there are two choice that can be
taken with regard to the 2009 elections, that is to
boycott the elections or secondly, to question the
existing political conditions, such as the law on
political parties.
------------------
2. Lqbal, President of the Indonesian Metal Trade
Workers Federation (FSPMI)
The situation for workers 10 after the fall of
Suharto
In terms of issues, the labour situation post-
Suharto has not changed much. In terms of
implementation, it is worse now than during the
Suharto era. In terms of concept, currently there
are both positive and negative aspects. For example,
the articles on outsourcing in Law Number 13/2003 on
Labour can be used to eliminate outsourcing in
companies where SPMI members are working, by
changing SPMI workers who are affected by
outsourcing through labour contractors who do not
have a work relationship with the job provider
becoming contract employees, but it can also be
interpreted as being in accordance with the
employer’s interests in justifying outsourcing.
The principle issues facing labour
The FSPMI leadership meeting held on February 5-7,
2008 decided that there were four main issue facing
the labour movement: 1) amending Law Number 3/1992
on Jamsostek (state-run workers insurance scheme);
2) changing the regulations on contract employees
and opposing outsourcing 3) a decent national wage;
and 4) supervision, which tends not to function
because of the regional autonomy process.
The current state of the labour movement
Objectively, there is an opportunity to increase
consciousness within the labour movement because,
first, the law has already provided the space for
this, and secondly, the strong desire to join a
trade union. Nevertheless there is a weakness, the
large number of trade unions at the moment -- there
are 98 federations, three confederations and 146
national trade unions -- making it easy for the
labour movement to be disunited. In addition to
this, political consciousness, with regard to the
danger of the law on foreign investment for example,
is also not very high.
Labour movement unity
Labour movement unity is a permanent necessity
because the working class faces the same issues. The
working class itself already understands the need
for this unity. But this unity cannot be only based
on momentum, but rather must be sustainable, so that
the working class has a strong bargaining power both
against the government as well as the movements.
There are four main obstacles to labour movement
unity in Indonesia. First, the majority of attempts
at labour unity have been driven by outside parties,
such as non-government organisations (NGOs) or the
government, for their own interests, so that when
their needs are fulfilled, these outside parties
then seek a new format. This obstacle will disappear
if and when unity is driven by the permanent needs
of the working class and organised by workers
themselves. Secondly, there are differences.
Structural unity of all federations or trade unions
is an impossibility. What can be undertaken is
cultural unity, like a non-aligned movement, where
unity is based on a similarity of interests and
issues. Attempts at this kind of unity have actually
already been undertaken, but have met failure,
because they were structured in a premature fashion,
so when there was a section that was not part of the
structure, they felt uncomfortable. Third, financing
must not depend on an outside party, that way it
will not be constrained by the interests of the
party providing the funds. Fourth, although the
labour movement cannot be active at the same level
as national political figures, initially, there is a
need to involve figures that have significant
influence in the individual federations.
Although the labour movement needs to involve
broader layers of society, it must still have its
nucleus in the movement. In Sweden for example, out
of its millions of people, only two hundred thousand
people are organised, who continue to develop the
values of social justice.
Aims of the struggle
The final goal of the Indonesian people, including
the labour movement within it, is a welfare state.
In order to move in such a direction it is necessary
to do so in stages. First, a collective
consciousness must be built that workers are a part
of the mainstream of the nation and the country’s
life, so that laws and government polices must
include the interests of labour. In order to build
this collective consciousness, workers must
strengthen the movement and organise the masses in
even larger numbers. Here, unity and contributions
are also important. Second, social security is
important in moving towards a welfare state, because
it is impossible to have good investment without
social justice and social security. Certainly
Indonesia already has Jamsostek, but the working
class has not been part of this.
Jamsostek itself has quite a significant potential.
Jamsostek currently has only covers around 25
percent of the work force, that is 8.1 million
workers, and already amounts to some 54.4 trillion
rupiah, whereas according to the National Statistics
Agency (BPS) the potential participants in Jamsostek
are 33 million or 26.8 million in 2007 according to
the Department of Labour. If all workers were
obliged to join Jamsostek, the amount could reach
200 trillion rupiah. Similarly, if severance pay
reserves were taken out of the companies’ coffers,
the total would be almost 268 trillion rupiah and if
pension fund insurance was operated properly, the
total would be almost 500 trillion rupiah. If all of
this was consolidated, the total would be almost
1,000 trillion. If this operated properly, the
government whose annual budget deficit in 2008 was
89 trillion rupiah would no longer need the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the World
Bank. The government could spend funds from these
social security institutions on development and
covering the deficit. But this of course would
require tight control and the money would have to be
returned to workers and the public in the form of
free education, healthcare and so forth.
The free market polices that are currently in place
are a consequence of a state administration that has
no character or ideology. The leadership style in
Indonesia at the moment is transactional in
character, meaning it is only able to negotiate. One
of the consequences of this, is that the concepts of
social justice that already exist in the 1945
Constitution have been lost through amendments, that
are then degraded in various laws such as the law on
capital investment and so on. But also we cannot
avoid the tide of capitalism and globalisation. What
is important is how to create social justice in the
flow of investment that enters the country. Here is
needed a leadership with a character and ideology.
Political parties
The formation of a labour party is one of the
choices for labour to struggle for its political
goals. But this must be proceeded by a process of
consensus building. First of all, the majority of
trade unions and elements concerned with the workers
movement must hold a convention to discuss whether
it is important to have a labour party. Such a
convention would not be to make a decision, so it
should produce a kind of small team to hold a
referendum among workers -- and if it is not
possible to include all workers, then it could just
be those workers that are organised. If through such
a referendum, the majority agree to a party, the
team would then report this to the convention, which
would then discuss the issue and decide on the
establishment of a party. After there is a party,
even if in its political work it receives support
from trade unions, the trade unions must remain
independent, for example, a person who holds a
position in the party cannot hold a position on a
trade union. With regard to previous party building
attempts such as Papernas, and so forth, the
weakness was that it was not done through a large
meeting conceived by collective consciousness,
whereas this collective consciousness needs to be
built first and this is why a sustainable cultural
movement becomes important.
The 2009 elections
There are three ways for the working class to
struggle for its political interests. First, by
entrusting the concept with the existing political
parties. This is difficult because there are
currently no parties that can be expected to
struggle for this concept. Second, by placing trade
union people in a political party. This requires
training, because there is no guarantee that the
people that are place in the party will take up the
interests of their trade union. Third, by
establishing their own political party to take up
the interests of workers.
With regard to the 2009 general elections, the
working class could: 1) elect, if they exits,
workers who want to enter the parliament, regardless
of their party; and 2) side with parties that
declare that they wish to take up workers’
interests. On this second option, it is indeed
difficult to differentiate between parties that are
serious and those that are just talk, but this
represents a form of training. If workers are unable
to channel their political interests through the
2009 elections, there is still an opportunity in
2014, but this must be accompanied with hard work
organising collective consciousness, through a large
meeting and a referendum, to reach an agreement on
whether there is a need for a labour party or not.
---------------------------
Peasant Organisations
1. Donny, National Peasants Union (STN)
The situation for farmers 10 after the fall of
Suharto
There has been no significant reform in farmers’
standard of living since the fall of Suharto. The
exchange value has progressively declined because
the ‘output’ paid out by farmers is becoming
steadily higher, while the ‘input’ obtained from
agricultural enterprises is becoming progressively
smaller. This is in part caused by factors external
to agricultural enterprises, such as the policy to
increase the price of fuel that has had a huge
impact on the cost of the agricultural production
and the lack of government guarantees on the price
of rice and farm food products.
The principle issues facing farmers
There have been at least three principle themes in
the peasants’ struggle in the post Suharto period.
First, agrarian conflicts, particularly between
farmers and traditional communities and the
plantation, forestry and mining companies, whether
they are private or government owned. Secondly, the
market liberalisation of agricultural products,
which has been a massive blow to output by
Indonesia’s peasant class because Indonesian
agricultural productivity, which is still lagging
behind [other countries] is forced to compete with
highly advanced agricultural production. Third, the
problem of the agricultural production costs that
are increasingly expensive a result of inflation and
the fuel price increases, meanwhile there is no
guarantee on the price of agricultural produce. Land
reform in the sense of the return of land to the
people, particularly farmers, in order that it can
be used to improve their standard of living is still
relevant, because in the post-Suharto period, land
is still being monopolised by plantation, forestry
and mining companies.
The state of the peasant movement
The STN believes that the state of the peasant
movement post the fall of Suharto is relatively
encouraging. First, farmers’ willingness to organise
is growing, which is apparent form the emergence of
many peasant organisations, whether they be local or
those that already have a national network.
Secondly, the people, particularly farmers, are
increasingly prepared to retake land that was seized
during the Suharto era. Third, many peasant
organisations at the local and provincial level have
formed alliances at the national level. This
represents an advance, because a view already exists
that struggle at the national level is something
that is necessary. In addition to this, in relative
terms the peasant movement organisations are
dominated by groups with a progressive thinking who
accept radical methods of struggle, such as mass
actions and so forth.
Peasant movement unity
In general the peasant movement outside of STN has a
similar theme of struggle, which is the resolution
of land conflicts and agrarian reform, opposition to
trade liberalisation, particularly in the
agricultural field and endeavouring that the
government improve the quality of and guarantee the
price of basic commodities. Similarly, the struggle
at the local level can be taken to the national
level, the struggle over land issues being centred
on demanding that the government implement the Basic
Agrarian Law Number 5/1960. Meaning there is no
grounds not to unite and indeed efforts at
cooperation on farmers’ issues often take place and
the results have been quite good, at least the
essence of the campaigns reached the relevant party.
But so far, cooperation has indeed only been based
on momentum, and is not yet at the strategic or
long-term level. Perhaps it would be best if such an
alliance were built from below or at the grassroots,
because from the STN’s own experience, if it is
built from below, it is ensured to directly manifest
itself in practice and generally endures for quite a
long time. Building unity from above, through
establishing an agreement among national leaders,
usually encounters at dead lock at the grassroots,
because there are different realties between those
at the top and those at the bottom. For example when
there is agreement at the national level, at the
local level there is the problem of each
organisation making clams over which base of support
it controls. So, in the peasant movement, unity must
be built from below and at the top limited by
communication that is initially non-binding. Those
at the top can also call on organisations at the
grassroots not to oppose each other in principle,
because no principle disagreement exists between
peasant organisations at the national level.
Aims of the struggle
The aim of the STN’s struggle is to create a social
order that is just and prosperous as desired by the
founders of the Indonesian nation. Although some of
the basic rights of the people are guaranteed under
the 1945 Constitution, they are not implemented by
the country’s leaders, particularly in the post-New
Order regime period. This awakening must start from
efforts at developing rural communities in general
and the peasant class in particular, because: 1)
development requires the existence of food
sovereignty; 2) the majority of Indonesian people
still live in rural areas; and 3) there are examples
in many other countries that development and
national industry can be achieved if the country is
able to take off from a process of improving the
peasant class and rural communities.
Political parties
Struggle at the socio-economic level is obviously
not enough and requires struggle at the socio-
political level. The STN itself has had the
experience of being an initiator in the
establishment of POPOR (the Party of United Popular
Opposition) and most recently Papernas. But learning
from this experience, building a party can be so
consuming that the needs and the internal
organisation’s strength to struggle for the demands
of the STN’s peasant members can be forgotten. This
is a model that is not quite right, because building
a political party for the parliamentary movement
cannot abandon the building of an extra-
parliamentary socio-economic movement. Both have to
be undertaken and be mutually supportive.
The 2009 elections
The STN, as one of the initiators of Papernas, had
hoped that Papernas could become an alternative
party to contest the 2009 elections. But now,
because Papernas has been unable to or not
successful enough in supporting the mission that was
put forward by STN, the STN cannot see anything
positive in the existing contestants in the 2009
elections.
---------------
2. Iwan, Agrarian Reform Consortium (KPA)
The situation for farmers 10 years after the fall of
Suharto
The current situation in the agrarian sector is
contradictive. On the one hand, large plantations
and the agricultural industry such as seed providers
are experiencing extraordinary advances. On the
other hand, farmers continue to face problems
because they do not own land on an adequate economic
scale, so agricultural production is no longer
enough to support farmers’ livelihoods and they must
seek additional sources of incomes, such as becoming
motorcycle taxi drivers (ojek) and so forth. In
addition to this, since the consolidation of the
post-Suharto regime, the rate of land take overs [by
big companies] has also increased until it has
become similar to the Suharto era.
With regard to non-land related problems, the trend
is now worse than during the Suharto era, because
the price of fuel is tending to increase, so
agricultural production input costs have also tend
to rise, while increasing commodity prices has not
tended to have had a significant influence on
farmers because export tax increases by companies
and agricultural traders is being born by the
farmers. With regard to the widespread import of
agricultural products, the essence of the problem is
that business administration since the Suharto era
has hurt Indonesian agricultural products. So the
most important issue for farmers is genuine agrarian
reform.
The currents state of the peasant movement
There are three problems in the peasant movement at
present. First, the bonds of solidarity within the
peasant movement at the moment are still based on
agrarian conflicts. So farmers join a union or line
up with farmers from other sub-districts because
they are both involved in a particular agrarian
conflict with a company. Such bonds have
limitations, because the goal of the peasant
movement is not just to resolve agrarian conflicts.
These bonds of solidarity must be transformed
towards something that is more productive in
character based on joint land management in the form
of joint enterprises such as cooperatives. Second,
the peasant movement has yet to succeed in
attracting farmers that are facing non-land related
management problems, whereas there are also many
conflicts that arise not because of non land-related
conflicts, such as the availability of fertilizer
and so forth. Third, the peasant movement is still
unable to unit the rural (agricultural) and urban
(industrial) problems, where the conditions in rural
areas are closely related to urban conditions, even
with global conditions, for example the over-supply
of labour from the villages influences the
bargaining power of trade unions in the cities.
Peasant movement unity
In terms of issues, within the peasant movement
everyone is in agreement, that is the need for
genuine agrarian reform. Here, peasant unions at the
national level could be pushed to form a national
confederation so that the demands of the peasant
movement are better understood. What has become a
problem is that peasant unions also face concrete
situations on the ground such as land takeovers by
companies and so forth, and there is a gap between
these concrete conditions and the discourse on
agrarian reform and the unity of the peasant
movement. Likewise, there has been no cooperation to
resolve these concrete conditions or to work out a
roadmap to transform peasant unions that could come
out of joint education and practical work on the
ground.
Unity or cooperation of the peasant movement with
other social movements, such as the labour movement
and students, is also important in order to be able
to bring global problems into the conscious of the
peasant class. This need for multi-sector unity is
actually already understood by some organisations,
but the lengthy process in this direction has not
yet started in a sustainable manner. Meeting that
what has taken place to date is often just based on
momentum, such as during the World Trade
Organisation conference.
Aims of the struggle
The KPA’s concept of agrarian reform is uniting the
[problems in the] social system, starting with rural
(farmers) to urban (industrial) problems, to bring
this together to return to the social aims of the
Indonesian state. The KPA itself believes that the
three [main] rural issues are: 1) the lack of and
effective use of advanced technology; 2) excess
labour and: 3) the lack of productive access to the
land. These problems could be overcome through
village and farmer owned enterprises that manage a
division of labour (diversification) that is
mutually supportive. This system could improve
productivity because it would hold down input
[costs] and at the same time resolves the problem of
excess labour and reduce the flow of labour to the
cities. This would be a trial of practical
socialism, which would transform one structure into
the industrial world, bearing in mind that since the
Dutch colonial period Indonesian agriculture has
functioned simply to supply raw materials to the
advanced countries.
Political parties
There are already many peasant organisations that
are progressive and understand the need for
political struggle in the form of advancing the
agenda of agrarian reform into an agenda of taking
power, because it would indeed be impossible for the
peasant movement alone to influence those in power.
But the problem is the readiness of the peasant
unions themselves, because in confronting repression
there are those within the peasant movement who are
building coalitions with particular sections of the
political elite. Meaning these movements will have
to calculate that if they are pushed to build an
independent peasant movement and sever all relations
with the elite that have protected them up until
now, there are risks related to their land and the
repression they will face.
The 2OO9 elections
Iwan is not convinced that the 2009 elections will
be able to fix the people’s problems, because these
problems are related to the global economic
situation. In the case of people’s political parties
such as the United People's Party (PPR), if they can
garner a significant vote in the 2009 elections,
perhaps there are hopes that things could proceed in
a better direction. But for activists that have
joined the traditional parties, there is not much
hope, because they can only take up their private
agenda and not the people’s agenda. If the aim of
addressing the elections is to organise, it would be
easier to organise by campaigning around the fuel
price increases, the increase in the price of basic
goods and so forth rather than campaigning in the
2009 elections.
------------
3. Rully, Indonesian Farmers Union (SPI)
The situation for farmers 10 years after the fall of
Suharto
The situation for farmers over the last years has
become increasingly difficult because of the
liberalisation of the agricultural sector that
continues to be promoted by the government. Likewise
at the moment, the government is pushing farmers to
change their patterns of planting and food
cultivation for the needs of industry, such as agro-
fuel crops, but without providing any price
guarantees, so that farming activities have become
like gambling, now planting a certain crop because
they say the crops is good, but when they are
harvested the price is no longer good. Not to
mention the problems of disasters such as floods
that have quite a significant influence on
agricultural production, which should be overcome by
the government by providing guarantees or insurance.
The principle issues facing farmers
Because of its history, SPI was established out of
land problems and its members are small-scale
farmers or farmers without land, so what has become
the principle issue or program for SPI has been
agrarian reform, particularly land ownership. Only
after dealing with this can we discuss other issues
such as technology, seed and so forth. There are
other peasant organisations that have taken up the
problem of agrarian reform because of the ownership
structure or the behaviour of land owning companies,
which are very unjust and need to be overhauled to
become fairer.
The state of the peasant movement 10 years after
Suharto
Currently there are a number of peasant
organisations at the national level and the
communication that exists between several of these
organisations is quite good. In terms of principles,
they are all in agreement about how to pursue
agrarian reform. The differences that exist are
about approach. But for the political struggle, more
joint discussion is indeed needed in order that the
peasant movement can grow strong enough to pressure
the government.
Peasant movement unity
Peasant movement unity, if indeed this has become an
organisational goal, could be built both from above
and from below. The SPI itself, in order to overcome
fragmentation and move towards unity has already
changed from a federated to a unionist structure and
is currently carrying out a further organisational
overhaul. With regard to unity between peasant
organisations, the need actually exists, but the
obstacle lies with the issue of trust, which is
indeed not a finished product that will simply
materialise, but must be tested through joint work,
developing maturity and mutual respect. In addition
to this, the issue of different groups claiming
authority over a given support base must be
resolved, because there are indeed farmers who are
members of more than one peasant organisation. The
SPI itself has already suggested to other peasant
organisations that this problem could be resolved by
dividing up areas of work and though mutual
consolidation, because the peasant movement will not
develop if it only works to take away each other’s
base of support.
Multi-sector unity is also needed because the
farming sector cannot advance by itself if it wishes
to carry out comprehensive reform. There is an
interrelationship between farming sector problems
and other sectors. For example, there are farmers
whose family members are migrant workers and it is
important to push the migrant labour movement to see
the roots of their problems, such as why they go
overseas to become migrant workers. Here of course,
communication is needed, meetings and discussions so
that the struggle can have a common view and aim.
The SPI itself has been pushing for the
establishment of a fisherpeople and workers
organisations, specifically for migrant workers. But
it also needs to be understood that although we have
already reached this stage, is there still a need to
strengthen the individual sectors first or are we
able to pursue both at once.
Aims of the struggle
The goal of the SPI’s struggle is agrarian reform
towards a structure that is more just in the
agrarian sector. Here, agrarian reform is not just
limited to land distribution, but also how it can be
sustainable, meaning there must be support in terms
of seed, prices and infrastructure. With regard to
the question of the state, unity is needed not just
to reform socio-economic development, but also to
change its political form in the direction of
democratic and populist politics in order to counter
the powers of capital.
Political parties
We must indeed take political power and the
discourse on a party has become one of the
discussions within the SPI. But there has yet to be
an organisational decision whether or not to form
our own political party, join an existing party or
take the extra-parliamentary road. The most
important thing for the SPI at the moment is no
mater what the means to carry out this reform, there
must be internal organisational consolidation,
because if the organisation is in order and united,
whatever decisions are taken they will be easy to
undertake. The SPI is not closed to the possibility
of building a party jointly with other organisations
because unity is indeed important to fight the
current political system and oligarchy.
The 2OO9 elections
In organisational terms, the SPI has yet to
determine its political stand with regard to the
2009 elections. Although personally, Rully is of the
view that the 2009 elections will disrupt the work
of consolidating the people’s movements, because the
liberal system of politics makes the people think
pragmatically. Here, the 2009 elections need to be
addressed, for example, by pushing the people to
speak, through their organisations, which they will
not participate in the elections, if for example,
land is not provided to farmers or workers’ wages
are not raised to a reasonable level. This could be
conveyed not just through demands, but also by
boycott actions. In addition to this, golput (white
movement, abstaining from voting) voters have to be
consolidated into a political movement. If the
people cannot be pushed to the point of boycott
actions, the minimum in the 2009 elections is
political eduction and achieving victories,
including among others proving land to farmers. With
regard to activists that have joined the traditional
political parties, their goal appears to be more one
of personal gain rather than organisational
interests.
-----------
Fisherpeople’s organisations
Arbani Nikahi, Chairperson Saijaan Fishers Union
(INSAN)
The situation for fisherpeople 10 years after the
fall of Suharto
Reformasi has not brought any significant changes to
fisherpeople’s lives. They continue to suffer and
the government is still controlled by parties that
only prioritise themselves and their own group’s
interests.
The principle issues facing fisherpeople
The urgent issue for fisherpeople is the problem of
fuel and the marketing of the fish catch. These
issues are not just urgent for INSAN fisherpeople,
but for fisherpeople throughout South Kalimantan,
even perhaps throughout Indonesia.
The current state of the fisherpeople’s movement
Up until now, INSAN fishers are still struggling
over the price of fuel which is becoming steadily
higher while supplies are becoming scarcer. But
INSAN itself already has a cooperative. In Kota Baru
itself, there is a communication network between
fishers and INSAN has even developed relations with
other regions.
Aims of the struggle
The aims of INSAN’s struggle is first, to reform the
government so that it has a vision that holds the
values of openness and siding with the people in the
highest esteem, and second, building a society that
has a level of awareness about the existing
conditions and is able to organise itself.
People’s movement unity
Unity is indeed a necessity, but it has to be
supported by social autonomy that can only be
created with an economic wing that is able to
support the people’s movement. This need for unity
itself is understood by other movement groups but
the obstacle is economic problems.
Political parties
Political parties are a strategic necessity and it
would be better if the various elements in the
movement built a party jointly rather than building
individual parties.
The 2OO9 elections
The 2009 elections are not important because it will
not produce anything. So INSAN’s position with
regard to the 2009 elections is to golput
(abstaining from voting).
-----------------
Urban and rural poor organisations
Marlo, General Chairperson Indonesian Poor People’s
Union (SRMI)
The situation for the poor 10 years after the fall
of Suharto
In economic terms, the impact of 10 years of
reformasi on poor communities has brought absolutely
no benefits. By way of example, many small-scale
enterprises were bankrupted after being hit by the
[economic] crisis. In political terms, although it
has not been very significant, there has been change
in the form of opening up democratic space that has
been relatively beneficial for the people’s
movement.
Strategic issues
The strategic issue at present is neoliberalism,
which results in the privatisation or selling off
state owned companies to foreigners. This
privatisation is involving vital assets such as
hospitals, which are a basic necessity for the
people. This hurts the people because it results in
high prices.
The current state of the poor people’s movement
Currently there are many people who practice and
study Marxist ideologies, including figures who
originate from Indonesia, such as Indonesia’s
founding President Sukarno. But the people’s
movement at the moment is becoming increasingly
fragmented.
People’s movement unity
At the moment, the people’s movement -- including
within this the urban poor movement -- is fragmented
and difficult to unite. The unity that once existed
was only on paper or limited to momentum such as the
momentum of the election or regional heads or
because of the existence of a particular issue, but
it has never reach the strategic level. This
fragmentation could have a bad impact on the growth
of the movement itself in the future.
The obstacles to movement unity are not because
there are problems in the programs or aims of the
respective organisations, but because first, the
individual organisations perhaps have their own
respective hidden agendas that are not revealed
openly. Secondly, within the urban poor sector
movement, there are indeed few urban poor
organisations and they are local in character.
Aims of the struggle
The aim of the SRMI’s struggle is a social order
that is truly democratic, just, clean and populist.
In a society such as this, the state would side with
the people, not like the neoliberal state at the
moment, which if seen from its policies, is very
anti-poor.
Political parties
The aim of the people’s movement is to take power.
In the current era of democracy, one of the means to
do this is through a political party. So building a
party is one of the forms of the struggle. But it
can also be by participating in or supporting
parties that concretely, have a clear and credible
program, and takes correct positions. The SRMI
itself is involved in supporting the building of
Papernas. There is a need for the building of this
party to be carried out jointly by the movements
that have grown out of the reformasi era and have
the same vision and enemies, because it will be
difficult for them to carry it out individually.
2OO9 elections
We must respond to the 2009 general elections,
because taking part will determine the advance or
retreat of the people’s movement as well as the
Indonesian nation. In the 2009 elections, the
Indonesian people should support the parties and
candidates that side with the people, who are
competent, have good values, a high level of
commitment, clear programs and not bad individuals,
such as those who are corrupt or committed human
rights violations. Here, the people must be sharp,
don’t be lied to and don’t elect a president or
party that is not prepared to undertake a political
contract. With regard to activists that have joined
the big political paries, this is happening because
at the moment, they have left their previous
organisations, so that they are acting based on
their own ideas. We could control them jointly and
if necessary, we could supply them with materials in
order that they understand the problems that are
occurring and the grassroots level or the people’s
movement.
ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANISATIONS
Andreat, General Secretary Green Indonesia Union
(SHI)
The situation for the people 10 years after the fall
of Suharto
Because during the period of Suharto’s fall, foreign
capital won its fight with those forces within the
country that wanted reform, what then occurred was
the liberalisation and privatisation of all sectors.
This worsened the situation for the people, so some
people lost their trust in the government and the
people’s resistance increased. On the one hand, this
situation ‘ripened’ the people’s movement. But on
the other hand, those who had envisioned reform,
while reform never came, were then perhaps
frustrated, and they then began to think that
Suharto’s New Order period was better. If there is
no change in the leadership of the movement, it is
quite possible that the people will start dreaming
of a ‘just king’ (leader, saviour of the people) and
this has the potential to again bring about an
authoritarian leadership.
The current state of the people’s movement
The people’s movement is still not very big and the
people’s political consciousness is yet to reach the
level of a critical consciousness. This can be seen,
for example, from the persistence of money polities.
Despite this, generally and among middle-class
layers, there has been an increase in awareness
about the issue of imperialism or neoliberalism. So
there are two principle problems in the people’s
movement. First there is fragmentation and second,
there is still a disparity between different
elements within the people’s movement.
Aims of the struggle
For Andreas, there are at least two political aims.
First, direct democracy, which is organised starting
from the community level, for example decisions
about a particular mining investment must be made by
local people who live in and around the mining site.
Second, the economy must be determined by the
public. Here, socialism, as a model of collective
management is one of the models. So in the context
of the struggle against neoliberalism, economic
collectives need to be built that are autonomous,
and support each other at the regency level so goods
from outside do not expand into the regions.
People’s movement unity
The need for unity is actually well understood, but
there is the problem of fragmentation, which is
cased by at least four factors. First, because more
and more people are working on specific issues.
Second, a lack of humility between people in the
movement. Third, a crisis of leadership, because
barriers are created between different elements, so
there is no one who can really be trusted by all
elements. The other option to address the leadership
problems is a collective leadership model but this
is also difficult to build. Fourth, there are
different readings of the current situation in
Indonesia. In addition to this, there is there also
problems such as occurred in the People's Movement
Conference of Unity (KPGR), where when there was
agreement at the national level, it was uncertain
the same thing was taking place in the regions.
Bearing this fragmentation in mind, movement unity
may not be able to aim for a target that is too
high, but rather be started from a limited
expansion. For example, left and green groups, each
build and consolidate their forces first, and later
at some point converge. Don’t agree to unite from
the start, because the green movement still has
people who will pull out if they are pressured to
unite.
The question of political parties
When the SHI was established it had already been
decided to build a party in 2011, but this is
currently going through a process of answering what
form of party will be built. Some say a green party,
because they feel environmental issues are the
urgent question, bearing in mind that democracy and
prosperity are vulnerable without ensuring the
carrying capacity of the environment.
The other debate is over the issue of the
relationship between the SHI and the party that will
be formed in the future. There are two view here,
that is: 1) a view that states that it will be the
SHI itself that will become a party and; 2) a view
that states that the SHI as a mass organisation must
continue to exist while building a party. Andreas
himself believes that the SHI as a mass organisation
should continue to exist and the masses will be
active within the SHI, while its party will become a
cadre party with a limited membership.
2OO9 elections
With regard to the 2009 elections, the SHI’s big
agenda is the delegitimisation of the system. But
whatever stand it takes in the elections, in order
to bring about reform, the mass movements must be
strengthened. Actually there is a potential that can
be built from choosing to golput (white movement,
abstaining from voting), but there are not enough
people in the movement to organise these golput
voters. Golput itself, although it represents a form
of political consciousness, is not accompanied by
more active resistance.
STUDENT ORGANISATIONS
Ken, Indonesian Student Union (SMI)
The state of education 10 years after the fall of
Suharto
The education sector in Indonesia is increasingly
moving towards privatisation. This appears in the
form of regulations, such as the Law on the National
Eduction System. The impact of the implementation of
these regulations is first, depoliticisation both in
the form of prohibitions on student mass
organisations developing their activities on campus
and because education is being turned into a simple
business, so that it neglects quality education with
a populist character, which in its turn becomes an
obstacle for the development of progressive forces
on campus. Secondly, the draft Law on the Education
Legal Board (BHP) that will close the opportunities
for low-income people to obtain a tertiary
education. All of this will further impede the
strength of the productive forces in Indonesia.
The principle issues facing the student movement
The most urgent issue is how to campaign for the
broadest possible capitalisation (sic) of the
eduction sector, because this is closely linked with
the state of productive forces in Indonesia, which
is a prerequisite to strengthen the national
industry. There have been two organisations that
have been quite consistent over the issue the draft
BHP law -- the SMI and the National Student Front
(FMN). The difference between them is that the FMN’s
focus is on providing 20 percent of the budget for
education, while the SMI’s focus has been on
education that is free, scientific and has a
populist vision.
The current state of the student movement
In terms of issues, there are still student
movements that take up general issues that very
distant from students level of consciousness. If the
student movement wants to win a certain demand, so
that concretely it can become a basic experience
that demonstrates the effectiveness of the student
struggle, these general issues must be combined with
concrete issues.
In terms of the movement, generally, the student
movement is indeed weak, but it still exists. At the
national level, there is still the SMI and the FMN
which are progressive in character, while at the
local level, many student organisations are still
emerging that do not have an affiliation with an
organisation at the national level. The perspective
of local struggles must indeed be changed into a
national perspective. Now, issues of the
capitalisation of education cannot radicalise
students as it did in 1998 because the student
movement at the moment does not yet have a clear
perspective in reading the state of society.
Aims of the struggle
For the SMI the aim of the struggle in national
liberation, which will be achieved only by means of
developing a strong national industry with a
populist character, genuine structural agrarian
reform, the nationalisation of vital assets and the
abolition of the foreign debt. All of this can be
carried out through the mass movements by the
people’s sectors and organisations.
Student movement unity
The need for solidarity in the student movement is
already understood. The SMI itself has already
succeeded in building a strategic consolidation with
a number of local organisations. In late 2007 for
example, the Liberation Study Group (KSP). In the
North Sumatra provincial capital of Medan merged
with the SMI. Currently, the SMI is also in the
process of developing a more strategic consolidation
with the Unikarta Student Action Front (FAMU) and
other local organisations that exist in Jakarta,
Lampung (South Sumatra), Lumajang (East Java) and
Jember (East Java). So ideas about struggling
separately are starting to disappear, the problem is
how can all of this be united.
In order to achieve the aim of national liberation,
it requires that the student movement unite with the
other people’s sectors. The SMI itself is currently
undertaking joint work with a number of other
people’s organisations, both at the national as well
as the local level, such as the Workers Challenge
Alliance (ABM), the Karawang Peasants Union
(Sepetak, West Java), the Greater Jakarta Workers
Federation of Struggle (FPBJ) in Cikarang (West
Java), the Batang Farmers Federation of Struggle
(FPPB, Central Java) and the Pekalongan Farmers
Federation of Struggle (FPPP, Central Java).
Political parties
The SMI is not allergic to a political party, but
the problem is what kind of political party.
Political struggle through mass organisations does
indeed have its limits. The SMI itself along with a
number of organisations that have similar views are
endeavouring to change the character of the social
movements into a political movement. As a tool in
the future it will of course be more revolutionary
compared with the mass organisations.
The 2OO9 elections
The 2009 elections should be addressed as a way to
enlarge the strength of the mass movements in the
context of challenging the hegemony of the existing
bourgeois parties. Here, there are many methods that
could be undertaken, but this is dependent upon the
reading of the territorial situation. What is more
important than the 2009 elections is understanding
the national situation in order that it can become a
basis to propagandise more broadly in the context of
building a bigger mass movement.
Social-political organisations
1. Irwansyah, Secretary General Working People’s
Association (PRP)
The situation for the people 10 years after the fall
of Suharto
Over the 10 years of reformasi, the disparities and
contradictions between groups whose quality of life
is deteriorating and those groups who have greater
access to economic wealth has been growing ever
larger. The groups whose quality of live has been
deteriorating are those who depend upon waged labour
including the unemployed. In the midst of this
situation, the creation of new space for the
movement of capital has in fact broadened
(privatisation and so forth) and the creation of a
“new middle-class” as a social class that is not
fully in control of capital but benefits in relative
terms from the movement of neoliberal capital. It is
this middle class that has given rise to fantasies
that are also used to lull the poor as a whole into
believing that anyone can improve the quality of
their life if they are just prepared to work hard.
The reality shows however that those who work the
hardest are the social classes that are most
oppressed, while the oppressor class lives without
having to work hard.
The principle issues facing the people
The problem in the decline in the quality of social
life is very closely linked with the problem of who
is in power. Over the last 10 years political power
has facilitated and been facilitated by the power of
capital. The ever worsening crisis is a consequence
of the power of the capitalist class that sacrifices
the majority of people that do not have access to
capital. This is why the PRP is proposing that a
solution to the crisis must be based on a
perspective of working people’s power -- those who
have become the victims of the crisis.
The state of the people’s movement post-Suharto
The people’s movement at the moment is facing a
unique situation. On the one had, the movement
succeeded in opening up greater political space when
it toppled the Suharto dictatorship, but on the
other hand, the movement is confused, because there
has been no direct benefit that can be enjoyed after
it succeeded in toppling the Suharto dictatorship.
The movement to this day still carries out mass
actions, but is confused about how to direct these
actions. A crisis of political concepts has occurred
that has resulted in the introduction and influence
of counter-reformist ideas, such as concepts of
sectarianism based on ethnic group, race and
religion, which has in fact obscured the real
problems.
As it happens there are left groups that actually
still play a big role in the people’s movements at
the moment. But there has been a retreat in the
level of organisation of the left movement itself.
They have also failed to put forward a program or
concept about people’s power. What has occurred then
is that these left groups continue to have an
influence in people’s movement but have failed to
lead the people’s movement.
People’s movement unity
The need to build joint unity clearly exists. The
formation of the PRP itself was stimulated by this
need, which is to address the left groups that are
so splintered. Here, what is needed is a new
consolidation that can learn from past mistakes. But
this will first require a process to see whether
this effort can proceed.
With regard to the obstacles to unity, at the
programmatic level, there are actually not any
differences that are too striking. Moreover at the
rhetorical level, the issues that are taken by
various left movement groups are mutually
interconnected, such as anti-neoliberalism and so
forth. The problem lies more with the inability to
manage the consolidation process, because there is
rarely any study of the processes that have already
been undertaken. In addition to this, the spread of
ideas of consolidation is still limited to elite
organisational circles of the movement, as if the
masses do not have the capacity or the need to
consolidate, whereases at the level of actions or
response, the stagnation of the elite is precisely
what is being broken through by mass initiatives.
Right now, the process of the consolidation of the
movement appears to be weakening, because there are
still many problems in the process to which a
solution is yet to be found. As a consequence, many
people have given up in the consolidation of the
movement. But optimism towards the consolidation of
the movement must continue to be socialised, because
the potential that exists is actually very big.
Aims of the struggle
The aim of the struggle for the PRP is a society
that is based upon equality. Here, equality will
never be achieved if the social system is
established on patterns of relations that perpetuate
the oppression of one group or class over another
group or class. State power in society that is
inequitable tends to facilitate classes that want to
maintain inequality in society. So a society that is
based upon equality is a socialist society.
Political parties
Political parties are one of the political tools of
the oppressed classes to achieve the ideals of
socialism. Political parties cannot restrict their
role to the needs of formal political
representation, but must relate to all strategic
needs in order to realise the goal of socialism.
Here, elections are not the goal, but only a space
that can be tactically used to achieve strategic
goals. But currently, it is precisely the procedural
democratic hegemony that places elections at the
final goal of for the existence of political
parties, so many social movement groups who have
formed parties have been trapped in the complexity
of the electoral procedures and have failed to break
down the limitations that hinder the achievement of
these more strategic goals.
A political party has already become a necessity for
the movement. This can be seen from the phenomena in
the labour movement since 2006 which gave birth to
the slogan “If the workers hold power, the people
will be prosperous!”, which implicitly contains a
desire on the part of the trade union leadership to
take power politically. But the problem is that in
managing the process to produce a party that is no
only able to fight in tactical arenas such as
elections, but one that is also able to achieve its
strategic goals. With regard to the 2009 elections,
although leftist organisations are not ready to
participate, it could still become a momentum to
consolidate and enlarge the movement, bearing in
mind that there is a crisis of legitimacy exists
among the parties that have failed to accommodate
the people’s aspirations.
The 2OO9 elections
The 2009 elections represent an extremely important
momentum, but not just in terms of the results that
are achieved through the elections, but rather in
terms of the possibility of change that could be
generated through the non-electoral path.
The experience of 1997-98 shows that the greater the
people’s antipathy towards the processes of the
institutionalisation the forces that exist, the
greater also are the possibilities of creative
energy to generate a breakthrough in reform. What
form will this breakthrough take, it is this that
still has to be worked on by the people’s movement
at the moment. The people’s movement, together, must
increase its political consciousness and make use of
the people whose positions have been hurt in this
process of marginalisation to directly confront the
system that exists.
With regard to former activists that have joined
political parties such as the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and so forth, there is a
difference in consciousness between them and the
masses who continue to learn. While former activists
are increasingly enthusiastic about joining parties,
the people on the other hand are increasingly
reluctant to support these parties. The cause of
this is because after experiencing political
failures in the reformasi movement, and seeing that
the forces that are corrupt and authoritarian have
never successfully been punished for their errors,
these former activist then think with the logic of
what advantage and disadvantage can be gained and no
longer in the framework of social reform.
The stand of the PRP itself towards the elections is
to call for the formation of a [working] class or
working people’s party. Even if a party such as this
is unable to take part in the 2009 elections, it
could still be used as an arena of consolidation by
the people’s movements who no longer trust the
existing parties. There is also a possibility that
the PRP will take a position of opposing or
boycotting the 2009 elections.
--------------
2. Zely Ariane, Spokesperson People’s Democratic
Party-Political Committee of the Poor (KPRM-PRD)
The situation for the people 10 after the fall of
Suharto
The economic livelihood of the people is
deteriorating as a consequence of the neoliberal
economic policies that have been pursued since the
Suharto era. The burden of the foreign debt is
sapping the state budget and there is no funding
portion that is adequate to improve the people’s
productive forces. In addition to this, the capacity
of domestic industrial to absorb the productive
forces has also been destroyed by foreign capital
that has no interest in investing its capital to
develop the national industry and prefers to
speculate on the financial markets, in portfolios,
bonds and shares. The destruction of the people’s
purchasing power, unemployment, mass dismissals and
outsourcing are a consequence of this neoliberal
economic model.
In the political field meanwhile, since the fall of
former President Gus Dur (Abdurrahman Wahid), there
are three political forces that are dominant: 1) the
New Order forces in the shape of the Golkar Party;
2) the fake reformists, particularly those parties
that became parasites on the 1998 reform movement
and afterwards; and 3) the military. The fall of Gus
Dur itself was a reflection of how the military
supported the first and second groups to bring Gus
Dur down. And now, the political tendency of these
three groups is to become the agents of foreign
capital.
The principle issues facing the people at the moment
The source of the people’s problems at the moment is
the low level of their productive capacity. There
are a number of factors that have become obstacles
to the people’s productivity, such as the low levels
of education and health along with poor
infrastructure; low wage levels, problems with the
quality of agricultural land, the provision of
capital, technology, prices and distribution; the
lack of employment opportunities and so forth. So in
the midst of the destruction of the people’s
purchasing power, the thing that could unite all of
the above problems is the issue of the increase in
the price of basic commodities.
State of the people’s movement
Currently there are two significant spectrums within
the movement. First, the movements that still have a
link with those of the 1980s and 1990s, such as the
Green Indonesia Union (SHI), the Working People’s
Association (PRP), the Workers Challenge Alliance
(ABM), the Indonesian Farmers Federation (FSPI), the
National Students Front (FMN) and so forth. This
spectrum is more open to programs to solve
neoliberalism radically or in stages and their
action committees have demands that are quite
radical politically. Second, the spontaneous,
fragmented and economist movement, which does not
have or only has a small link with the movements of
the 1980s and 1990s. Included within this movement
is the response or resistance by the people that
statistically could reach the thousands every month.
Their actions are also becoming richer with
revolutionary methods such as occupations, strikes
and so forth. This spectrum is far broader and must
be united and influenced by the first spectrum of
the movement.
Aims of the struggle
The KPRM-PRD’s aim is to struggle for a socialist
society, because socialism is the one and only
solution to capitalism that is destroying humanity’s
future. Under capitalism, as a result of the
ownership and control by a small handful of people
over the companies that produce products needed by
humanity, suffering is occurring in the midst of an
abundance of goods. This ownership is the principle
obstacle to improving human productivity, a basis
for which has already been provided by advances in
scientific knowledge and technology.
Now, the development of socialism has two
prerequisites. First, democracy, that guarantees the
fullest possible direct participation of the people
and that does not end in elections or the ballot
paper, such as referendums and communal councils ala
Venezuela. Second, the centralisation of all funding
components under the state and under the control of
the people. This is necessary to: 1) fund the
emergency needs of the people, which if they are not
immediately addressed could reduce the people’s
productivity; and 2) funding national
industrialisation by and for the people.
People’s movement unity
Movement unity is absolutely essential to provide
self-confidence to the people and to build the
people’s hopes to take power. The pressing issues
are: 1) laying aside sectarianism and
preconceptions; 2) uniting those programs of
struggle that can be agreed upon; and 3) organising
regular conferences to discuss and debate
scientifically the programs that are unable or not
yet able to be unified.
Political parties
Political parties are a necessity for the movement
and their function is political education for the
poor to build their own forces. Under bourgeois
representative democracy, the movement is given an
opportunity to form political parties and step
forward as participants in elections, as if gaining
seats in the parliament is only a way to advance the
democratic struggle. Real change cannot be achieved
through parliament. Here, these efforts to get into
parliament will only be beneficial to the people, if
it is based on the necessity to motivate the direct
involvement of the people and confront the people
with the state as the obstacle to their
participation. Without this, movement parties will
become no different to the other traditional
parties, which believe that change can be achieved
only by gaining seats in the parliament.
Currently, the reality is that a number of elements
in the second spectrum of the movement have already
started to form their own political parties and this
represents a form of political advance for the
movement, because in the past the movement has been
faced by the problem of an anti-party sentiment. The
current problem however is no longer the
establishment of a party, but instead one of unity.
Because without unity, it will impossible for these
parties to succeed in becoming electoral
participants, bearing in mind that the present
obstacles to becoming a contestant in the elections
can only be broken down with united mobilisations.
This is what the National Liberation Party of Unity
(Papernas) has failed to do.
The 2OO9 elections
Given the current composition of the participants in
the 2009 general elections and the increasing
cooling of the people’s enthusiasm towards
elections, it is impossible for the 2009 elections
to answer the people’s problems. Meanwhile
alternative party forces such as the United People's
Party (PPR), who are not yet very popular, and
Papernas, whose structure is inadequate as a result
of a split within its structures that opposed
forming a coalition, will find it difficult to take
part in the elections. Moreover Papernas’s image has
been destroyed as a consequence of its plan to merge
with the Islamic based Star Reform Party (PBR) --
which has now been rejected by the PBR -- and
carrying out a secret negotiations to form colation
with the Democratic Party of Reform (PDP, a split
off from the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle).
With regard to Papernas and its other activities
directed to joining the traditional political
parties, they have begun to be coopted by the elite,
the fake reformists and even remnants of the New
Order. Politics such as this represent a
demoralisation on the part of activities in the
first spectrum of the movement, that do not want to
think hard about how to cultivate the current and
advantageous objective situation and also because of
careerist opportunism. This last point cannot be
ignored, because it will destroy the movement and
the people’s trust in its own forces and political
alternatives. They must be criticised and if it
become increasingly detrimental, must be opposed.
The position that must be taken with regard to the
2009 elections is to unite all the political
expressions of the people’s struggle and the
movements under coalitions, conferences and the
unification of mobilisations with various demands
and solutions for the people, in order to challenge
the hegemony of the existing parties and the
remnants of the old elite forces. Without uniting
this political expression, all of the election
calls, weather they are for a boycott or to elect
the PPR or Papernas, will not be able to be
successfully undertaken or gain the support of the
people.
--------------
3. Harris Sitorus, Secretary General National
Liberation Party of Unity (Papernas)
The situation for the people 10 years after the fall
of Suharto
In general terms, there has been no significant
change in social welfare over the 10 years since the
fall of Suharto. This can be seen from the gap
between levels of income and expenditure, where half
of the Indonesian population have an income of less
than 18,000 rupiah a day, whereas there is a need to
buy rice and so forth. This is already included in
the category of poverty, but officially the
government states that the number of poor in
Indonesia is only around 39 million or 16.7 percent,
whereas it is actually three times this number.
The principle problems facing the people at the
moment
The urgent problem in Indonesia is the lack of
welfare that is a caused by incorrect policies,
because of the grip of imperialism. Indonesia itself
actually has a great deal of natural wealth, but it
is not used for the benefit of the ordinary people.
The state, which should be the servant of the public
has instead liberalised all sectors of the economy.
This is what we must take back, because we are the
owners of this land of Indonesia.
This discourse, in principle, has also been
developing in groups outside of Papernas. Moreover
many bourgeois politicians have also been taking up
the issue of national autonomy, although their
seriousness is open to question. But a means has not
in fact been found to correctly put the above
discourse into practice. Hopefully groups or
individuals that understand it can continue to
mutually discuss the problem in order that it can
become a joint issue that in turn can become a new
political force.
State of the people’s movement
Following the fall of Suharto, many critical
individuals emerged and on the one hand, this was
positive, because it signified that people were
struggling though their own methods and endeavouring
to advance these means of struggle. But this
situation of struggling individually could not be
maintained, and this has been the reason for the
weakness of the people’s movement over the last 10
years. Unity is needed, not just as a perspective,
but with concrete measures.
People’s movement unity
Since 2001, there have been many concepts of unity.
In general terms, among various movement elements,
there has been a similarity in the vision and views
about the basic problem in Indonesia and the means
to overcome it. The problem is -- and this has
existed since the Suharto era -- in practice these
various elements have had unique and different
characteristics. For example, in viewing the mass
movements, there are those that prioritise moving
quickly and there are those that prioritise prudence
and strengthening the basis first before a large
mass movement can exist. In addition to this, after
Suharto was toppled, there were different experience
of struggle and new ideas.
One of the best possibilities to apply is to
mutually carry out things that can be jointly agreed
on and to undertake individually things that cannot
be jointly agreed to, while testing this in practice
to obtain an understanding about which practice is
the most correct. In addition to this, elements in
the movement also need to discuss how, if full unity
cannot yet be achieved, to mutually support each
other. Papernas itself is of the view that unity in
concrete terms, is building a political party,
because the problem in Indonesia is a problem of
power, bearing in mind the forces that have been in
power up until now have not been able to pursue that
which is being demanded by the people.
Aims of the struggle
Papernas’s concept is one of national unity. This
concept sets out from the fact that the Indonesian
people in general, from all classes or sectors, are
confronting the grip of imperialism through
neoliberalism. For Papernas, it is this that must be
resolved first of all. Indonesia must rise up first
and become a nation that is autonomous though a
national government, so that its tendency is
populist in general or progressive nationalist. So
the fight with domestic capitalism can be continued
later after this initial stage is finished, although
this does not mean that Papernas excludes this fight
right now.
Political parties
In a situation where state institutions have been
modified in such a way that is it difficult for it
to be accessed by the movement, unity is thus indeed
a necessity for the movement if it is to compete
with the parties that already dominate.
Communication in this direction must be built in
order that in 2010-2011 or other years, the movement
can unite its forces. All parties also need a
concrete picture about the practical steps needed
for unity, so that it is not just groping around,
which could then lead to splits and conflicts.
Papernas itself is projecting to take state power,
because real power lies in the state institutions,
such as the parliament and so fourth. It is here
that political power is established, not in the
streets. So, Papernas is currently endeavouring to
combine extra-parliamentary methods with
parliamentary methods to broaden its influence. This
is why Papernas is endeavouring as fully as possible
to be involved in the 2009 elections. So the form of
an open mass party has been taken so that Papernas
can become a tool to accelerate the political
consciousness of the marginal layers, bearing in
mind the potential for this exists and can be seen
from the unrest that is currently spreading in
society.
The 2OO9 elections
The 2009 elections are strategic, because it is
linked with the issue of power. For Papernas all
issues that are linked with power are strategic in
character, because all of these issues will
determine what Indonesia wants to become in the
future. The state institutions that exist at the
moment cannot of course promise anything, but in de
facto and concrete terms a movement that could make
revolutionary change possible does not exist. So, no
matter how bad our state institutions are, they must
still be intervened in so that we do not just become
spectators who simply accept their policies.
Although we must indeed work on concrete issues in
society, at the same time we must also put forward
the perspective of holding power. That is what
Papernas is currently trying to do.
In the 2009 elections, the elements of the movement
must take a stand and not become apolitical, such as
carrying out golput (white movement, abstaining from
voting). If indeed there is no alternative, it is
better to carry out a boycott than to golput.
Papernas itself is currently seeking another way so
that it can be involved in the 2009 elections and if
successful, colleagues in the movement can elect
Papernas people. If this turns out to be a failure,
we can elect other alternative forces such as United
People’s Party (PPR). If not, perhaps in other
parties there are good individuals, who have been
tested and can represent this social unrest. We
could elect them with the hope that after they are
in power, they will not become free individuals.
Papernas itself does not trust individuals such as
those in the Golkar Party, because they must become
a part of an organisation or collective.
[Translated by James Balowski.]
ENDS.
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