
Issue No 104		27 July 2001

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

Indonesia

Where to the Workers After Gus Dur?

At the end of a turbulent week, Jasper Goss looks at the impact of the overthrow of Wahid on Indonesian workers.


	Abdurrahman Wahid

**************

The transfer of Indonesia's presidency from Abdurahman Wahid (Gus Dur) to Megawati Sukarnoputri captured much of the attention of Australia's media over the last week. But for most of the media, the wider implications of the transfer of power escaped their attention.

The first major transfer of power in recent history was the downfall of Suharto in 1998. Suharto's regime captured control of Indonesia through one of the greatest state-organised massacres of the Twentieth Century, the killing of one million trade unionists, communists and sympathetic leftists. This massacre in 1965 continues to shape the possibility of progressive politics in Indonesia since it cemented the military and its proxies at the centre of political and economic life.

When in 1999 Indonesia held it first elections since the 1950s many workers and rural poor voted for Megawati, and she was able to capture the largest portion of the vote. Yet, her campaign was based more on linking herself with the

nationalist resonance of her father, the founder of independent Indonesia in 1945, than with economic or political policies that might be considered progressive.

However, the Indonesian political system uses the parliament to elect the president, and while Megawati's party captured the largest number of seats, conservative Islamic parties in coalition with Suharto's old party, Golkar, and military-appointed members used their votes to elect Gus Dur, initially viewed as a conservative, as President.

Yet, much to these reactionaries' surprise, Gus Dur turned out not to be their man.

Gus Dur encouraged open debate on the 1965 massacre, sought to distance himself from sections of the military (especially those associated with the policies directed at the destabilisation of East Timor), was prepared to speak openly (albeit contradictorily) on the question of Aceh and encouraged a free press.

After 30 years of dictatorship this was progressive. For the labour movement these were genuinely radical moments. Suppressed via a system of state-controlled unions, workers in Indonesia were left with neither genuine protection nor valid means to represent themselves politically.

So the opening afforded by Gus Dur, was relatively speaking, very significant.

Genuine independent trade unions formed for the first time since the 1960s. Across the archipelago, workers were able to demand and fight for rights and conditions long denied via collusion between the military and local and foreign capitalists.

At the same time, this upsurge in independent labour activity was not to the liking of the old order. Even though only three or four percent of Indonesia's workforce is unionised and, compared to levels prior to 1965, lacks coordinated strategy, such a resurgence of labour was unacceptable in the eyes of those who had maintained unquestioned rule.

Starting last year, the political forces of reaction began to move against Gus Dur. Ironically, these were the same forces which had placed him in the presidency. Led by sections of the military and the Golkar party, accusations

of corruption were leveled. Whether true or false was ultimately immaterial as this week's vote demonstrated: Gus Dur was replaced with a new person believed to, this time, be more favourable to the demands of the old order.

Clearly, the military are now closer to the centre of power than they were during Gus Dur's presidency. Moreover, the crony class associated with the Suharto-era of enrichment and personal aggrandisement continues to escape any calling to account for previous actions. Finally, a number of incidents over the last six months hint at worse to come.

Independent trade union activity has been undermined. Goon squads associated with the military and local cronies have attacked workers, including brutal assaults and murders. Left political parties have been targeted and activists

detained.

There is no certainty as to how Megawati will react to these circumstances. Indonesia's economic situation remains in permanent crisis its debt burden alone shackles the country into a system of modern penury. Nor have the polices of global financial institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF, who gave unqualified support to the Suharto regime, helped in anyway defend the rights of workers to decent conditions and living standards.

However, Megawati has sought to present herself as a nationalist and such image making, to some extent, necessitates concern for all Indonesians, especially the pool of workers and rural poor who voted for her.

Furthermore, it should be noted that her own political party was destabilised and her headquarters destroyed during the Suharto dictatorship. She cannot unquestionably be assumed to do the bidding of the old order, the lesson that should be learned form Gus Dur's presidency.

Paradoxically, she could not be where she is today without the initial support of democratic forces and the subsequent support of old order forces.

The question is which group will she come to rely on for her political survival? At the moment it seems the old order has the upper hand. For Indonesia's workers the coming period will be one of trying to consolidate the

gains made over the last two years. For the international labour movement it is vital that all support be given in protecting Indonesia's independent union movement and extending and deepening Indonesia's emerging democracy.

Jasper Goss is Information and Research Officer with the Asia and Pacific regional secretariat of the International Union of Food, Agriculture, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations.

View entire issue - print all of the articles!

Issue 104 contents

Interview: A Super Agenda
Labor's federal spokesman on superannuation Kelvin Thompson outlines the challenges a Beazley Government will face in managing the nation's savings.

E-Change: 1.4 The Shifting Sands of Ideology
Peter Lewis and Michael Gadiel conclude the first part of their study of new politics by looking for core Labor values in a post-Cold War environment.

Corporate: Locking Horns
The same names keep cropping up in the business pages as the web of corporate control stays tied to a few big players. Georgina Murray has been looking at the extent and depth of the connections.

Unions: The Workers Bank
With banks on the nose, David Whiteley looks at how unions and super funds have got together to create the real deal � the workers bank.

International: Phil Davey's Amazon Postcard
The CFMEU's Boy Wonder has downed the megaphone for three months in South America. Here's what he's been up to.

History: Faded Vision of The American Bounder
King O'Malley was an American ex-pat who dreamed of a people's bank. Neale Towart looks at what happened to his vision.

Activists: The Big Gee-Up
With the big guns of the anti-corporate movement in town, Mark Hebblewhite goes looking for a definition of globalisation.

Indonesia: Where to the Workers After Gus Dur?
At the end of a turbulent week, Jasper Goss looks at the impact of the overthrow of Wahid on Indonesian workers.

Review: Mixing Pop and Politics
'The Bank' is a new Australian film that takes a contemporary political issue and transforms it into a piece of compelling popular culture.

Satire: Milosevic's Defence: "I Was Just Issuing Orders"
Disgraced former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic has brushed off against charges for war crimes against humanity and mass genocide.

» Community Banks Are No Collectivists

» Labor Vows to Widen Royal Commission

» WorkCover Finally Fesses Up � Premiums the Problem

» Unions Launch 56 Hour Watch

» Call Centre Campaign Bares First Fruit

» Justice at Last for One.Tel Workers

» Entitlements Push Gathers Momentum

» Employer Dirty on Leave Win

» Rights Put In Too Hard Basket

» AMA Move on Doctors� Hours Welcome

» Aussie Post Workers Rally

» Strike by Airport Guards Lawful

» Workers Rejects Brough Deal

» Unions Will March at CHOGM

» Average Response to Robberies

» Coca-Cola Sued for Using Paramilitary Force

» Activists Notebook