In Indonesia working people are making use of the political space won with the resignation of President Suharto earlier this year. Suharto's regime originated in a military-led bloodbath in the mid-1960s. In the midst of antigovernment actions organized by workers and students, and after major riots, Suharto acceded to the wishes of his imperialist and local military backers and handed over power to his vice president, Jusuf Habibie, on May 21.
Many actions occurring in Indonesia today are fueled by simple, brutal hunger. "Millions of Indonesians face an impending famine due to dire food shortages," the Associated Press reported September 15
Food Minister A.M. Saefuddin stated that many families can afford only a single daily meal. "Sixty percent of the Indonesian population can only afford to buy food," said Dr. Sri Mulyani Indrawati of the University of Indonesia, stating that among the 200-plus million Indonesians, some 20 million are unemployed. Habibie himself has said that 40 percent of the population is living in poverty, up from the official figure of 11 percent before the economic crisis began a year ago. Referring to the past years of rapid economic growth, the Indonesian president stated in an August 16 televised address, "It is no exaggeration to say the achievements of three decades of national development have been wiped out."
Miners, transport workers strike
Prices of essential foodstuff have soared since the
region-wide economic slide was triggered in July last year.
The rupiah has fallen by 80 percent against the U.S. dollar
in that time. With inflation threatening to reach 100
percent, and problems of distribution, prolonged drought,
hoarding, and smuggling, rice prices have tripled over the
past year.
Many workers, students, and farmers are taking action in response. The Sydney Morning Herald reported a week-long strike involving 5,000 workers at the PT Freeport Indonesian mine in Irian Jaya, one of the world's largest copper and gold mines.
In mid-September thousands of striking public transport workers took to the streets of Medan. Their "massive strike" has "paralyzed" the city, reported the Jakarta Post, an English-language Indonesian daily. Thousands of students from the Javanese cities of Jogyakarta, Surubaya, Bandung, and Jakarta have been involved in protests, demanding that Habibie cut prices or resign. Students and farmers protested outside government buildings in Jakarta, demanding assistance for impoverished farmers, and in Bogor, where they demanded the return of land stolen by government officials or their associates.
In late August, in the town of Cilacap, 270 miles east of Jakarta, thousands of fishermen burned a number of trawlers. The fishing-boat crews, paid the current equivalent of 18 cents a day per person, said they had not received a pay rise in six years. These social explosions often turn on establishments owned by Chinese business people. Scapegoating the Chinese traders has long been a tool of military and autocratic rule. Over the past several months demonstrations have been organized by Chinese communities throughout the region, from Beijing to Auckland, calling on the Habibie government to investigate the violence that occurred during the May riots that preceded Suharto's resignation.
Nearly 5,000 arrested by military
The Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) have been put on the
defensive by unfolding revelations of atrocities in the
north Sumatran province of Aceh, carried out during a nine-
year campaign against fighters for national rights. Human
rights groups say they know of nine mass graves in the area.
While Habibie has made a show of apologizing for "human rights violations in several regions committed by individuals from the state apparatus," he responded to the recent swell in protest action by instructing "all ABRI to take stern action against looting and rioters." The Indonesian police have reported that since May, some 4,800 people have been detained for questioning during various "disturbances." Of these, 867 have been charged, with 267 put on trial.
Independence fighters on East Timor warned of a recent buildup of troops in the territory. About 100 students protested at the U.S. consulate in Surabaya September 24 against Washington's military assistance to Indonesian troops in East Timor.
Habibie's government has said there will be general elections next May. Under Suharto's rule only three government-controlled parties were allowed, and since his resignation many new electoral parties have been announced. New laws being mooted would place "conditions" on parties participating in the elections, and retain a number of seats for representatives of the military.