Exploring the history of Indonesian student movements
JAKARTA (JP): When students began to rally in increasing numbers this year, people wondered if they were seeing a repetition of protests in the 1960s. The anger directed at the government has been similar, but although the protests have been much more widespread compared to demonstrations in the 1970s and '80s, the throngs of young people who headed for Semanggi, Central Jakarta, in 1968 far outnumbered recent demonstrators.
Student actions date back to the 1920s, when the first university entrants began to organize themselves. Studies on the evolution of the independence movement refer to these early student actions as central to developing the embryo of public opposition to colonial rule.
The late first vice-president Mohammad Hatta was among students who in 1925 formed Perhimpunan Indonesia (Indonesian Association) when studying in the Netherlands.
Students then were considered to be much more of an elite group given the very poor public access to even basic education. Following an upbringing tinged by centuries of oppression under Dutch and Japanese rule, the self-esteem of these individuals increased immeasurably after being treated as equals in foreign education institutes.
After returning home and once again experiencing the racism of colonial life, these leading lights were imbibed with a deep sense of noblesse oblige, a noble obligation to help those less well off. Struggles for independence elsewhere in Asia were among other sources of inspiration.
From 1945 to the late 1950s, the fledgling Republic of Indonesia developed education. By the end of the 1950s many provincial capitals had their own state universities and expectations of education and a better life were raised.
But there was not enough jobs for all graduates, and education and living costs increased.
According to Franois Raillon, an expert on the Indonesian student movement between 1966 and 1974, this "material condition" of the early 1960s and student resistance to indoctrination by the influential communists, were among factors leading to radicalization in the universities.
The condition, he wrote, "thickened anti-Sukarno (the late first president) feelings among students" because "promises made before independence were not kept."
The main demands were to reduce prices, eliminate corruption and dismantle the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). The party was considered to be a danger and aspired to turning the country into a one-party state of the sort found on mainland China and the Soviet Union at that time.
Activist leanings among students were channeled by the many student organizations. In 1964, GMNI (Movement of Indonesian National Students) claimed a membership of 75,000.
Promises
This was made possible by the high level of activism in society, a legacy from the struggle for independence. Political parties, which numbered 36 in the 1955 general election, and the military, sought to establish institutional links with students, whom they viewed as a potent force of young intellectuals.
Generasi 66, as the generation of activists from that era were dubbed, is remembered for their role in bringing down the Old Order. The Old Order regime was blamed for public misery and economic chaos.
A former activist from Bandung Institute of Technology, Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, reflected on the support given to students by the military, who equally resented the PKI and Sukarno's unkept promises, and the general public. This "alliance," he said, "grew rapidly following the deterioration of the economy."
Raillon, whose study focused on the Bandung-based Mahasiswa Indonesia weekly, of which Sarwono was an editor, points out features of West Java's capital which he argues were conducive to developing the strength of the student movement there in the late 1960s.
In his 1994 book, he refers to the dozens of higher education institutes in the town, its proximity to Jakarta, cosmopolitan character, and the many military schools located there.
The headquarters of the Siliwangi military division, considered to be among the most professional of that era, are located in Bandung. Members of the garrison had links with the local intelligentsia.
Sarwono said the chief of the military's information department at that time, Brig. Gen. Sugandhi, was crucial in encouraging the birth of the student press.
The following generation, wrote political professor Burhan Magenda, became caught up in "a revolution of collapsing hopes."
In his article for a 1977 edition of the Prisma journal on politics and the young generation, Burhan referred to "disillusionment" with the partnership between academia and the military which was prominent among students at that time.
The famed Jan. 15, 1974 incident known as Malari, occurred when initially peaceful protests turned violent in Jakarta.
The demonstrators voiced resentment of perceived injustice in economic policies for the sake of attracting foreign investment, and an inept, corrupt and authoritarian government.
The University of Indonesia took the lead in the demonstrations. Eleven people died in the ensuing fracas with security forces, a marked departure from the "alliance" between students and the military throughout the 1960s.
Increased depoliticization of society followed -- student councils were frozen, and politics was demarcated as an area in which academia could not dabble.
Demonstrations were held to protest against such policies, including the notorious decree issued by then minister of education and culture Daoed Joesoef, known as NKK/BKK. NKK stands for normalization of campus life, and defined the function of universities to be the nurturing of students as "people of analysis", not rally attendants. BKK was the implementation of this concept. It defined a legal structure for universities in which the intervention of rectors and staff in student activities could be justified.
Normalisasi was a great success. Protests of 1978, which demanded a change of the national leadership, were confined to activists and gained little support outside campuses.
Military crackdowns, such as at Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta, and prison terms handed down to student activists, were an effective lesson for future generations.
Fear gradually turned to apathy, particularly among students from wealthy families concentrated in the capital.
Apathy also reflected a lack of enthusiasm for joining legal organizations such as the National Committee of Indonesian Youth (KNPI), formed in 1973.
The credit system of examination, introduced in the early 1980s, lead to a more flexible way for students to manage their time, and encouraged them to graduate quickly.
As a result, hunting and competing for the best jobs could also begin earlier. Concentrating on studies was now more attractive than demonstrating.
Former UGM activist Didik Supriyanto wrote in his recently published book on the student press that the position of students lay far from their central role of the 1920s.
Lacking on-campus channels, students turned to study groups and non-governmental organizations before and after graduating.
The 1980s bore witness to some protests, all confined to campus activists. These were solidarity actions conducted with people who had to make way for large scale projects, such as the Kedung Ombo dam in Central Java.
National issues included protests against the government lottery.
In a largely apolitical environment, activists like those who formed the small Democratic People's Party (PRD) were not popular and were considered extreme among students themselves.
"Just as former students had Ikatan Mahasiswa Dansa (the club of dance students), we have large numbers of cafe-going students," said Achmad, who leads bergerak, the new daily of the University of Indonesia.
But recent developments have raised speculation that an end to political apathy on campuses is near. "Like the tissue box, the university jacket has become a must in the car, even among 'cafe students,' just in case there's a rally to attend," said Achmad, who is also a political science student. (anr)