On the campaign trail with the PRD
By Karen Fredericks and Edward Johnstone
JAKARTA — "First it waged its battle in the streets. Then it went underground. Now it is contesting the general election in the open in order to promote its own brand of socialism." So reported the front page of the Jakarta Post on May 17, the first day of the official election campaign period in Indonesia. The report was giving due recognition of the pivotal role played by the People's Democratic Party (PRD) in opening the democratic space into which hundreds of thousands of Indonesians have flooded in the last week.
On May 23 we joined the party's motorcade of 700 activists piled aboard buses, cars and motorbikes as it threaded through the tiny streets and alleys which are home to the urban poor of Jakarta. Electoral commission funding of 150 million rupiah has been spent on producing hundreds of thousands of leaflets and pamphlets outlining the party's program of "people's social democracy". The information was snatched up eagerly and read closely by the street vendors, workers, students and unemployed who lined the streets.
Just as we arrived in Indonesia, the Asian edition of Time magazine revealed evidence that Suharto and his family had accumulated at least US$15 billion during his 32 years as president, and that some US$9 billion had been transferred from a Swiss bank account moments before he resigned. Street vendors have been selling photocopies of the article ever since and the political atmosphere here is electric. Hand-made posters on even the smallest street barrow proclaim: "We want freedom, sweet freedom".
Three years ago we attended, in secret and with heavy security, the founding congress of the party. At that time — in April 1996 — the party's demands included removing Suharto as president, repealing the electoral law which gave legal status to only three parties and holding a multi-party election. Today, the party has won the space to operate openly and it is taking full advantage — although it is careful to warn its supporters: these elections will not be free and fair, the struggle is far from over.
PRD central committee member Faisol Reza told us that the PRD's participation in the election campaign was primarily aimed at reaching a mass audience with the party's program. The PRD is running in these elections not because it wants to play along with the parliamentary game but because as the party most committed to revolutionary democracy in Indonesia it uses every available means, including elections, to educate Indonesia's poor and working masses about the need to renew the struggle for reformasi total (total reform).
According to electoral commission regulations, each party is assigned a number of election "campaign days". The laws do not permit mobile demonstrations but on May 23 the streets of Jakarta were jammed from dawn to dusk with supporters of Megawati Sukarnoputri's PDI-Struggle party "travelling to the campaign venues".
May 23 was also the second official campaign day for the PRD. In Jakarta, we joined the Central Jakarta contingent of PRD campaigners. To the accompaniment of music by Brisbane band AKSI (who have made a cassette of songs in solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor), the activists prepared dozens of flags and decorated vehicles with banners proclaiming the "emergency program".
A constant stream of Megawati supporters passed by the office chanting "Mega! Mega! Mega!" and standing on their car horns. PRD activists swarmed across the street handing out PRD leaflets and calling out. "End the dual function of the military", "Free Budiman, free the political prisoners". Many Megawati supporters began to chant the PRD slogans.
PRD leader Wilson called through a megaphone, "We have common enemies: Golkar, ABRI and Habibie! We should join together to defeat them." He told us, "They do not know the program of PDI-Struggle, but today many people will learn about the program of the PRD".
At 10am, jailed PRD chairperson Budiman Sujatmiko's speech to the recent re-launch of the party was broadcast on national radio and an hour later we took to the streets ourselves. We had a tussle to hang on to our PRD flags with many supporters on the streets wanting them.
At noon we arrived outside Cipinang Prison where Budiman and the PRD's secretary general, Petrus Haryanto, are being held after being convicted of subversion by the Suharto regime. Other political prisoners at Cipinang have been there since 1965.
We were soon joined by three other PRD contingents who had been campaigning in other parts of Jakarta. Speaker after speaker demanded the release of the political prisoners and stressed the key demands of the PRD's political manifesto:
- Abolish the dual function of the military
- Form a transitional government
- Bring Suharto to trial
- De-militarise West Papua and Aceh and a referendum on independence for East Timor
- Free all political prisoners
- Raise wages by 100%, stop job losses and lower prices
- Land for peasants
- Stop the repression of women, listen to women's voices
- Free education, promote popular culture
- Support the PRD: the party for brave and intelligent youth, defender of democratic and popular socialism.
We delivered greetings from Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor in Australia and told the rally about the May 22 international day of solidarity with the Indonesian and East Timor people which took place in 21 countries.
Our message of international solidarity was greeted warmly, with cheers, handshakes and even a kiss from one demonstrator. We emphasised that activists for freedom and democracy around the world were inspired by the PRD's courageous, sustained and astute campaigning.
The PRD is now seeking to form a united front with other parties against the common enemies — Golkar, the military and President Habibie. The aims in this project are to generate the strongest possible movement against the regime and force the major opposition parties — the National Mandate Party of Amien Rais, the National Awakening Party of Abdurrahman Wahid and PDI-Struggle — to take a more consistent stand for reformasi total.