There can be no democracy or prosperity under imperialism and its agents

Political Committee of the Poor-Peoples Democratic Party Statemen

Commemorating the overthrown of Soeharto, May 21, 2010

Let us unite to overthrow the pro-imperialist government of SBY-Boediono and the rotten political elite. 

Replace them with a United Government of the Poor!

It has been 12 years since the Suharto dictatorship was toppled, overthrown not by the gun, or an elite conspiracy, but by the power of the mobilised people. But after 12 years of reformasi or political reform, power is still not in the hands of the people, rather it is in the hands of the rotten political elite: the fake reformists and the remnants of the Suharto's New Order regime. Does this mean that Suharto's overthrow in May 1998 was meaningless?

No! Absolutely not! The overthrow of Suharto on May 21, 1998 had great significance for the revolutionary process in Indonesia. This is true despite the fact that Suharto's overthrow through mass mobilisation has NOT YET been able to replace the power of the bourgeoisie, and instead the fake reformists and the remnants of the New Order have returned to power with a different face, although the substance is the same, the oppression of the people by the agents of imperialism.

The significant meaning of Suharto's overthrow as part of the unfinished revolution was: a dictatorship was able to be OVERTHROWN by the UNITY and the MOBILISATION OF THE PEOPLE, albeit (only) through populist demands (corruption, collusion and nepotism). May 1998 is clear evidence that MASS ACTION is tangible form of people's power that organises its resistance; an endeavour to liberate the people from their consciousness as "slaves", the "little people" and the "poor". It was from the momentum of Suharto's overthrow that MASS ACTIONS became a CULTURE, a WEAPON, an effective method of mass struggle, albeit one that is spontaneous in character.

After 16 years, Marsinah’s killers Remain Free (Commemorating the Death of Marsinah)

Perempuan Mahardhika National Network (JNPM) Statement - May 8, 2010

Disband the TNI’s territorial command
Liberate Indonesia from capitalism
Arrest and try Marsinah’s killers

Marsinah was a woman worker who was militant and courageous. The worker employed at the PT Catur Putra Surya (CPS) watch factory in Sidoarjo, East Java, was found dead in the Wilangan forest, Nganjuk, on May 8, 1993. Marsinah had not died without reason. The medical examination found that she had died as a result of injuries inflicted during torture. Wounds on her neck and wrists indicated that she had been severely beaten, had suffered internal hemorrhaging and been raped with a blunt instrument before being killed.

Marsinah had been involved in a action together with her co-workers at the factory demanding an increase in the basic wage from 1,700 rupiah to 2,250 rupiah per day and that the government-sponsored yellow trade union the All Indonesia Workers Union (SPSI) be dissolved for failing to side with the working class.

The struggle by PT CPS workers not only attracted opposition from the company but also from the Indonesian military (TNI), in this case the sub-district military command (Koramil), which was mobilised to confront Marsinah and her comrades. Thirteen workers who held the action were arbitrarily arrested by the military. Negotiation between the workers, company management and the Department of Labour were held at the Sidoarjo District Military Command Headquarters (Makodim).

'If Working People Want Prosperity They Must Take Power'

Mahardhika News - May 1, 2010

Vivi W -- Commemorating May Day, 5,000 workers from the Workers Challenge Alliance (ABM) held a protest action in Jakarta today against the pro-capitalist administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Boediono (SBY-Boediono), which have consistently brought suffering to the Indonesian working class.

Carrying a huge billboard reading "The solution for Indonesia: Build national industry, nationalise vital national assets under the people's control, repudiate the foreign debt and fight corruption", the ABM protesters rallied enthusiastically from the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta in preparation for a march to the nearby State Palace.

The demonstrators had been gathering in front of the Niko Hotel since 10am. One by one protesters from labour as well as non-labour organisations affiliated with the ABM arrived from other parts of Jakarta and the satellite cities of Bekasi and Tangerang. At 12noon precisely, the demonstrators led by action coordinator Kamal from the Indonesian Transportation Trade Union of Struggle (SBTPI) moved off towards the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle and then on to the State Palace in Central Jakarta.

Activists demand police arrest attackers

Jakarta Post - March 29, 2010

Indra Harsaputra , Surabaya -- Activists have accused the police and several religious groups of breaking the law by shutting down a planned congress on sexual orientation in Surabaya, East Java, and by banning conference participants from speaking to the media.

As of Sunday — the deadline given by extremist Islamic groups to foreign participants from 16 countries arriving in the city to attend the 4th regional Lesbian, Gay, Transgender and Intersex Association (ILGA) conference to leave the country — none of the participants have spoken to the press.

Leading gay rights activist Dede Oetomo apologized to journalists for not being able to give a statement, saying the participants’ and organizers’ safety was under threat.

Perempuan Mahardika condemns banning of ILGA congress in Surabaya

Detik.com - March 25, 2010

Support for the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) congress that was planned to be held in the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya continues to flow in, although there are many that oppose it.

One of the organisations that supports the congress, the Perempuan Mahardika (Free Women) National Network (JNPM) believes that Surabaya municipal district police is acting undemocratically.

"The rejection, banning and criticisms against holding the ILGA congress in Surabaya is a violation of basic human rights and an undemocratic act," said JNPM spokesperson Sharina in a press release received by Detik.com Surabaya on Wednesday March 24.

100 years of the women's struggle for liberation

Perempuan Mahardhika (Free Women) National Network Statement - March 8, 2010

- Women must leave the home
- Fight capitalism, struggle for prosperity and equality
- Replace the SBY-Boediono capitalist government
- Abandon the rotten political elite
- Unite, for a united government of the poor

Women are not just housewives. They are not second class citizens. History shows that in the beginning, the world progressed because humanity (men and women) succeeded in managing nature by creating, using and modernising the tools of labour, so that it resulted in abundant production (surplus). This was done in a way that was equitable -- there were none that had more than others, there was no domination by one gender over the other.

The widespread inequality, oppression, domination, discrimination and the subordination of women, was developed and formalised by the private ownership of surplus production and the means of production (class). And this did not occur all at once (by nature or predestination). Injustice against women is a human creation because of class and patriarchy, so, it can also be changed by humanity itself.

 

House represents less than 50 percent of voting population

Kompas – November 13, 2009 Jakarta —

“The number of voters represented by the nine political parties that obtained seats in the national House of Representatives (DPR) following the 2009 legislative elections is less that who are not represented.”

This was revealed by former General Election Commission (KPU) Deputy Chair Ramlan Surbakti during a discussion titled “Evaluating the Integrity of the 2009 Election Results” in Jakarta on Thursday November 12. The number of voters registered for legislative elections by the KPU in November 2009 was 171.27 million. However the number of votes represented by the nine political parties with seats in the DPR is only 85.05 million people or 49.66 percent.

The remainder, 86.22 million voters, is not represented by the 560 members of the DPR. The number of unrepresented voters is based on the 49.68 million registered voters who did not use their right to vote and the 17.49 million voters who did vote, but whose vote was declared invalid, plus 19.05 million voters who cast a valid vote but the parties they voted for did not obtain a seat because they failed to reach the electoral threshold (parliamentary threshold) to get into parliament.

Indonesian leftist makes Australian speaking tour

By James Crafti

Direct Action. As workers filed out from their shift at the Buana factory in western Jakarta, they were greeted by members of the Solidarity Alliance for Workers Struggle (GSPB) who handed them leaflets demanding wage rises and improvements to working conditions. Very few of Indonesia’s mostly women industrial workers are unionised. Active unionists like the members of the GSPB make new contacts outside the factory gates, and conduct trade union business in workers’ homes because bosses use anti-worker laws to stop union organisers from entering the factories.

This was just one of the images of Indonesia brought to life for Australian audiences in the recent Australian speaking tour of Indonesian political activist Vivi Widyawati. The national coordinator of the Jaringan Nasional Perempuan Mahardika (National Network for Women’s Liberation) and a leader of the radical left Committee of the Politics of the Poor–People’s Democratic Party (KPRM-PRD), Widyawati visited Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane in September and October.

Asked of her impressions from the tour, Widyawati told Direct Action she was surprised that people in Australia were unaware of the popular struggles across Indonesia for economic and social justice. She told Direct Action that “most people and activists in Australia don’t know a lot about people’s struggle and the political situation in Indonesia. While I was in Melbourne there were a few solidarity efforts such as solidarity with Palestine, Latin America, Cuba and Venezuela, and perhaps others — but for Indonesia it hasn’t happened yet.”

Labour union launches national campaign for 50 percent wage increase

Detik.com - October 26, 2009

Baban Gandapurnama, Bandung -- Workers from the Preparatory Committee for the
Indonesian Labour Movement Union (KP-PPBI) are demanding a minimum wage increase across all regions in 2010 of as much as 50 percent.

According to KP-PPBI provisional coordinator Sulaeman, their demands are based on an assessment of workers' wages that are still not enough to survive on. "This 50 percent increase for workers will also stimulate an increase in purchasing power, and thereby stimulate Indonesia's stagnating economy," said Sulaeman during a KP-PPBI press conference at the Hotel Bandung Permai on Monday October 26.

Sulaeman also said that this demand should be viewed from the aspect of living conditions in Indonesia that are in a state of crisis, which can be seen from the huge jump in the price of goods and services.

Women's liberation and the struggle for socialist politics in Indonesia

Direct Action Issue 15: September 2009

By Sam King

The National Network for Women’s Liberation (Jaringan Nasional Perempuan Mahardika - JNPM) is an Indonesian women’s liberation organisation consisting of local women’s committees, coordinating bodies and women’s sections of labour, student, peasant and urban poor organisations committed to the liberation of women. JNPM aims to develop direct involvement of women in struggling against capitalism, patriarchal culture and militarism in Indonesia and argues there can be no separation between the generalised struggle of Indonesia’s majority poor population and the struggle for women’s liberation. On August 22 Direct Action interviewed JNPM national coordinator Vivi Widyawati, who will be in Australia in September and October speaking at public meetings organised by Direct Action. Widyawati is also an activist in the Committee for the Politics of the Poor-People’s Democratic Party (KPRM-PRD), a socialist party formed two years ago by expelled members of the leftist PRD.

What are the main campaigns JNPM has focused on since it was founded?

Since its foundation there have been many actions undertaken by JNPM such as organising rallies every March 8 for International Women’s Day, developing a program of feminist education, and publishing the fortnightly bulletin Mahardhika. We campaign very broadly on the need to build a nationwide, independent women’s organisation. We also strive for unity between the women’s movement and the broader struggles of the poor majority. We also respond to government decisions or political attacks on women as they arise.

Currently, our main program is aimed at developing women’s committees at the grassroots level in each sector. We run educational programs around the basic rights of women, the political movement, feminism, democracy and about how to organise. Secondly, we distribute as much feminist reading material as possible including distributing Mahardhika. JNPM is also actively involved in building an alliance of all democratic and leftist organisations in Indonesia and of course this includes women’s organisations. We are also currently running a feminist school across three universities in Yogyakarta.