\"Aksi\" and Indonesian democracy<\/p>\n
Max Lane, Murdoch WA, Australia<\/p>\n
On May 26 The Jakarta Post published two interesting opinion
\npieces: Indonesian democracy or 'demo-crazy'? by Ziad Salim and
\nComplacency: Indonesia's democratic deficit by Adam Tyson. In
\nsome key respects, these two articles presented opposite points
\nof view.<\/p>\n
Salim argued that Indonesian democracy was, in effect, marred
\nby two much political activity, specifically street
\ndemonstrations while Tyson was arguing that there was too much
\ncomplacency. In some ways, however, there is also an overlap in
\nthe two perspectives.<\/p>\n
There is little doubt that street demonstrations, called unjuk
\nrasa in the media but aksi (actions) on the street, have played a
\ncentral role in Indonesian politics since the days of the
\nstruggle against Dutch colonialism. In the period of the
\nnationalist struggle, it was called actie massa and actions like
\nstrikes and mass rallies (vergadering) became a major weapon
\nagainst Dutch colonial oppression.<\/p>\n
After independence, it was the campaigns of mass
\ndemonstrations against the remnants of Dutch colonialism, in
\nparticular the unjust foreign Debt, that resulted in the Ali
\nSastromidjojo government repudiating 85 percent of Indonesia's
\nforeign debt to Holland. Today's demonstrations against the
\nforeign debt to American and British banks have not yet reached
\nthe same levels.<\/p>\n
Unilateral actions by workers also successfully took control
\nof Dutch plantations, mines and other companies in the late
\n1950s, providing a basis for Indonesia to develop its economy
\nindependent of Dutch neo-colonial interests.<\/p>\n
When these companies were mismanaged in the late 1950s and
\nearly 1960s by their new managers, usually military officers,
\nthere were again demonstrations demanding retooling (i.e.
\ndismissal) of these managers.<\/p>\n
There were also demonstrations demanding that state
\nenterprises have management councils where trade unions were
\ndirectly represented. By 1965 one third of all such state
\nenterprises had trade union representation.<\/p>\n
In 1964, when new land reform laws passed on parliament were
\nbeing thwarted in their implementation, landless peasants also
\ndemonstrated by occupying land due for distribution. In these
\nlatter cases there was unjuk otot (flexing the muscles) when
\nlandowners used the police and militia against the farmers.<\/p>\n
One myth is that Sukarno was overthrown by student
\ndemonstrations. Sukarno was overthrown as a result of a slow coup
\nby Gen. Soeharto. The student demonstrations by anti-Sukarno
\nstudents during 1965 and 1966 were used to legitimize the moves
\nmade by Soeharto.<\/p>\n
They were very different than the street demonstrations in
\n1997 and 1998 that forced President Soeharto out of power. In
\n1965-1966, the students were backed by the Army who had arrested
\nor killed members of the much larger student organizations that
\nsupported Sukarno. Anti-Sukarno students went out onto the
\nstreets; while pro-Sukarno students went into goal or were
\nburied. In 1997 and 1998, students were defying the Army, not
\nbeing supported by it.<\/p>\n
In fact, the coming to power of Soeharto in 1965 saw a
\nconcerted attempt to end all aksi: Depoliticisation and the
\nfloating mass were the orders of the day. But Soeharto was not
\nable to end all aksi. because (the anti-Sukarno) students had
\nbeen allies of Soeharto in 1965 and 1966, the new government felt
\nit necessary to allow some extra freedom on the campuses. Once
\nthe 1966 generation had left the campuses and a new generation
\nwas active, demonstrations began again, this time mainly against
\ncorruption. By 1973\/1974, demonstrations were again a daily
\naffair.<\/p>\n
From 1978 until 1988, demonstrations were relatively
\ninfrequent. But in 1989, students and peasants began
\ndemonstrating together, mainly over issues of land dispossession.
\nA whole new generation of aksi and unjuk rasa began. During the
\n1990s, factory workers joined the process, as exemplified by the
\nprotest strikes at factories like Gajah Tunggal and Great River.
\nIn fact, I think Salim is underestimating the extent to which
\nordinary people joined aksi.<\/p>\n
A review of the Indonesian press during the period points to
\nan increasing participation by factory workers, office workers,
\nfishermen, farmers, students, teachers and even doctors, all
\nsectors, in aksi and unjuk rasa. Most of these, though not all,
\nwere small and around immediate issues, but a new generalized
\nprocess had begun.<\/p>\n
This process began a new stage in June 1996 when about forty
\nthousand people demonstrated on a march to gambit station in
\nJakarta protesting the coup against Megawati Soekarnoputri in the
\nIndonesian Democratic Party.<\/p>\n
As with many demonstrations before, the Army was used against
\nthe demonstration. Political unjuk rasa then multiplied during
\n1996 and 1997, including during the 1997 election campaign. The
\nground was being laid for what was to happen in early 1998.<\/p>\n
Aksi had gone from being only about local and specific issues
\nbut about national political questions. Soon there were aksi
\naround the country on Indonesia's campuses demanding the
\nresignation of Soeharto after it was seen that his only response
\nto the socio-economic crisis after 1997 was to appoint even
\ncloser cronies, even his own daughter, into his cabinet. It was
\nthen that the aksi momentum increased leading to the occupation
\nof the parliament building in Jakarta and even bigger
\ndemonstrations in some other cities. Soeharto fell and the era of
\nreformasi began.<\/p>\n
So it was unjuk rasa and aksi that has given Indonesia the
\nfreedoms it has today. Will they continue to play such a positive
\nrole or are they becoming counter-productive as argued by Salim?<\/p>\n
The extent to which they occur in the form of protests is
\ndirectly dependent on whether socio-economic sand cultural
\nconditions are improving as a result of government policy, or
\ngetting worse.<\/p>\n
This is a simplistic explanation, but accurate all the same.
\nWill the next government have a program that can reverse the
\ndecline in conditions for the majority of Indonesians?<\/p>\n
Answer that question and you have answered the question about
\nthe role of aksi.<\/p>\n
The writer is Visiting Fellow of Asia Research Centre at
\nMurdoch University.<\/p>",
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