Medan workers' riots provoked by 3rd party: Activists
JAKARTA (JP): The riots in Medan last April, which had their origins in a workers' protest, were the result of a provocation by a third party and not the trade union which organized the march, according to a group of labor advocates.
"(We) found racist (anti-Chinese) leaflets which were aimed at inciting the people," the Forum of Labor Advocates announced yesterday, while releasing the preliminary findings of its investigation into the April riots.
The announcement, made at the office of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), came as two members of the Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union (SBSI) were being indicted in the Medan courts on charges of inciting the workers to riot.
SBSI chairman Muchtar Pakpahan has also been arrested on similar charges and his trial will begin soon, also in Medan.
Local SBSI officials in Medan admitted to organizing the workers' rally but denied that they encouraged the workers to indulge in violence.
One businessman of Chinese origin was killed and several others were injured. In addition, a number of buildings and factories were severely damaged during the riots which took place on April 14 and 15 in the North Sumatra capital.
Dozens of laborers lost their jobs and some of them were sent to court for their alleged involvement in the case.
The Forum of Labor Advocates said in its findings that, on the morning of April 15, several people who claimed to be factory workers came to the house of a labor activist and encouraged him to hold a violent strike.
"What's strange is that these people were not found among the workers arrested," the statement said. The findings will be presented to the National Commission on Human Rights.
The advocates called on the judicial authorities who are trying the case to explore all the possible scenario's that led up to and caused the violent strike.
Demands
Their findings suggested that the protests were initially intended to press various workers' demands, ranging from hikes in the minimum wage level from Rp 3,100 to Rp 7,000, to the reinstatement of a number of workers.
YLBHI Executive Director Mulyana W. Kusumah, commenting on findings, said yesterday that "external provocation" was one of the precipitating factors of the riots.
The basic factors were the country's political control strategy which was implemented through mass restriction and repression.
"In the case of labor, the restriction and repression patterns have developed through various organic regulations such as the manpower ministerial decrees, as well as the attitudes and policy of the bureaucrats who cannot accommodate the workers' demands. Another cause is the dissension against the official labor organizations," he said.
Mulyana, a criminologist at the University of Indonesia, added that the "politics of violence" was another form of restriction and repression patterns. (sim)