The Militant(logo) 
    Vol.60/No.30           September 2, 1996 
 
 
Thousands Riot Against Indonesia Gov't  

BY ROBERT MILLER

On July 27 cops in Indonesia assaulted 150 supporters of Megawati Sukarnoputri, an opposition bourgeois politician, which triggered one of the largest anti-government demonstrations in decades. Demonstrators called the police "dogs" and "monkeys" and shouted "Democracy!"

According to the Washington Post thousands of protesters burned buses and cars, set banks and government buildings ablaze, and took control of a key thoroughfare in the capital of Jakarta in a brazen display of defiance against Indonesia's military-led regime. "Today's outburst seemed to shake the well- cultivated image of Indonesia as a politically stable nation," the Post noted.

On the morning of July 27, police forcibly evicted supporters of Megawati from the headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), sending 37 people to the hospital. Megawati's backers had occupied the office for a month since the regime engineered her ousting as PDI leader, replacing her with a lackey of President Suharto.

As word spread on the raid, thousands of demonstrators filled the streets across from the riot cops, singing, chanting and throwing rocks. Some shouted, "the military are killers," and "hang Suharto."

Australia's Sydney Morning Herald reported, "the protesters were clearly ordinary workers, confirming the fears of many political commentators that the gap between the rich and poor is reaching a level where stability can no longer be maintained."

Twenty two buildings and 91 cars and buses were reported burned. The Indonesian Legal Aid Society reported as many as 7 deaths and 93 injuries. More than 200 people were arrested. On August 6 the police said they were continuing to detain and interrogate 154 people after arresting 249. The day following the rebellion, troops armed with automatic weapons patrolled the streets. General Sutiyoso was quoted saying "We have issued orders to shoot if there are any attempts to disturb order."

Suharto has ruled Indonesia for 30 years with an iron fist since leading the overthrow of president Sukarno in 1965. Sukarno was Indonesia's first president following independence from the Netherlands in 1949. Megawati is Sukarno's daughter.

In the mid 1960's the government oversaw the massacre of some 500,000 people alleged to be Communist Party members after crushing what it termed an attempted Communist coup. The PDI is one of the two officially sanctioned "opposition" groups in Indonesia. Neither of these parties have fielded a challenger to Suharto in the six elections since the `65 coup. However, Megawati had hinted she might oppose the 75-year-old Suharto in 1998.

The Suharto regime has taken the offensive against a range of political and union activists. Among those arrested are Muchtar Pakpahan, the leader of an independent labor union who faces a capital charge of treason. The government also arrested Budiman Sudjatmiko, a 26-year-old, leader of the People's Democratic Party. According to the New York Times, this group drew publicity earlier this year by organizing factory strikes for higher wages. Seven members of Indonesian Students for Democracy were arrested in central Java.

A spokesman for Megawati said she did not offer any statement of encouragement for those who faced riot police in her name adding she would pursue her party quarrels in the courts.

Following the clash, stock prices in Indonesia fell 6 percent and the currency, the rupiah, plummeted 1.2 percent, to a one- year low. Business Week pointed to Indonesia's susceptibility to financial shocks because of its huge $100 billion foreign debt.

"If Indonesia erupts, Asia will shake first, but the world soon afterwards," headlined an editorial in the Economist, pointing to the impact of developments in this country of 195 million. "Turmoil there would produce tremors from China to Australia," the article added. "Given the scale of foreign investment in the country ($4.5 billion in 1995 alone), it would also shake the boardrooms in Tokyo, New York and London."  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home