Pakpahan disappointed with Soeharto's MPR speech

Pakpahan disappointed with Soeharto's MPR speech

JAKARTA (JP): Jailed labor leader Muchtar Pakpahan expressed
his disappointment yesterday with President Soeharto's
accountability speech which he said neglected labor problems over
the past five years.

Pakpahan, who called a media briefing at Cikini Hospital where
he has been treated for various ailments for the past year, said
the account gave neither a substantive portrayal of the
nationwide labor strife nor any guidelines for the campaign to
improve workers' welfare.

He attributed the neglect to the paradigm upon which the New
Order administration was built, which he said did not provide
adequate space for labor issues.

The chairman of the unrecognized Indonesian Prosperous Labor
Union pointed to various social and economic ills resulting from
development policies that placed undue emphasis on growth at the
expense of equity.

Under such policies, capital and technology dominated while
workers became mere accessories, he said.

Pakpahan also lashed out at the government for depoliticizing
workers, leading to their poor bargaining position. "Workers have
not been given the freedom to assemble, to discuss and express
opinions.

"They have become the sacrifice of development. When
development went well, they were poorly paid, and when
development faltered, they became the first victims," he said.

Pakpahan demanded that the People's Consultative Assembly and
the government restore workers' political rights and include them
in economic decision-making.

"Subsidize the purchase of basic commodities for workers,
especially those who have lost their jobs in the economic
crisis," he said. "Project the International Monetary Fund and
World Bank assistance for labor-intensive projects involving
labor unions.

"Stop layoffs, reduce prices, and increase workers' wages in
accordance with the inflation rate over the past two months," he
demanded.

The government said on Monday that monthly inflation in
February was at its highest in more than three decades.

Pakpahan, 43, is serving a four-year sentence for inciting
riots but was admitted to hospital last March suffering from a
number of illnesses. He also faces charges of subversion in
connection with riots in Jakarta in July 1996 which erupted in
the aftermath of the government-sponsored ouster of the
Indonesian Democratic Party leader Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Subversion carries the death penalty in Indonesia.

Pakpahan also said yesterday he had requested government
permission to be allowed to travel overseas for the removal of a
tumor in his lung. If permission is refused, Pakpahan will have
to return to his prison cell by the end of the month.

The government has so far refused to allow him to leave the
country, saying his illness is not fatal. However, the government
did approve the sending of a medical team and equipment from
Canada to help Pakpahan late last year.

In the East Java capital of Surabaya, it was reported that a
poll found that more than half of the Sepuluh November Institute
of Technology students rejected President Soeharto's
accountability speech.

Poll organizer Ja'far Amiruddin, also the chairman of the
institute's student senate, said questionnaires were distributed
to the 5,000 students and 2,989 were returned.

"Soeharto's accountability report was rejected by 53.05
percent of the students (who answered the questionnaire)," Ja'far
noted.

The President presented his accountability report to the
People's Consultative Assembly on Sunday. Four of the five
factions in the Assembly have already responded positively to it.

Ja'far could not elaborate on the reasons for the students'
rejection of the report because they were only asked to express
their approval or disapproval. (nur/byg/swe/prb)