Protesters vow more rallies consider radical measures

Protesters vow more rallies consider radical measures

Berni K. Moestafa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Unable to force the government to cancel utility price increases
despite mass protests across the country, protesters vowed to
continue demonstrating and consider "radical means" to put
pressure on the government.

Thursday's rally in Jakarta failed to attract the expected
crowd of around 25,000, with just a few thousand turning out
before the Merdeka Palace to demand that the government cancel
increases in fuel prices and electricity and telephone charges.

"SPSI decided to withdraw their participation after Jacob Nuwa
Wea ordered them not to join us," said labor activist Dita Indah
Sari who chairs the National Front for the Struggle of Indonesian
Workers (FNPBI).

She was referring to the country's largest labor union the All
Indonesia Workers Union (SPSI), led by Minister of Manpower Jacob
Nuwa Wea. Dita added that many SPSI members defied the order and
joined the protests in Jakarta though they were far from enough.

The nationwide demonstrations were nonetheless the biggest so
far held against President Megawati's administration.

Protests have been held over the past four days since the
government announced the triple price hikes. Although the same
move sparked few protests last year, analysts said the timing was
bad.

A string of unpopular government decisions had preceded the
announcement. Suspicion over corruption behind the sale of state-
owned international call operator PT Indosat and plans to drop
possible criminal charges against business tycoons had soured the
government's image long before it disclosed the utility price
hikes.

Protests against the three policies now have a sharp anti-
Megawati undertone in them. But analysts said such pressure was
ineffective.

The government stood its ground on Thursday, agreeing only to
cosmetic compromises like tax incentives and a speedier
disbursement of aid to the poor to compensate for the price
hikes.

"We will gradually see the results, not today, but gradually,"
chairman of the Indonesian Prosperity Trade Union (SBSI), Muchtar
Pakpahan told Trans TV.

There is a risk that protesters may run out of steam and
require a break after four days of relentless protests, SBSI
executive Rekson Silaban said earlier.

He said that Thursday's protest was not the final one and more
would follow until the government agreed to negotiate with them.

"We're still looking for a common voice in negotiating with
the government," he said, explaining that some labor unions are
calling for radical actions like the refusal to pay taxes while
others are for a nationwide strike as leverage during talks.

FNPBI's Dita said the next demonstrations were scheduled for
Monday and Wednesday next week. "We're also considering tougher
actions, like boycotting gasoline stations or fuel trucks," she
said.

President Megawati may be ignoring the widespread protests for
now, but she faces a risk in the long run with the general
election in 2004, analysts have said.

Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-
Perjuangan), draws much of its support from grassroots voters
whose interests have been ignored by her recent policies.

This situation did not pass unnoticed by the opposition with
some political parties also attacking her unpopular decisions.

"Even without the price hike protest, the political climate
will heat up by itself because of the general election nearing,"
said former minister of manpower Bomer Pasaribu of the Center for
Labor and Development Studies (CLDS).

Sharing a narrow yet common goal, businessmen and workers
joined forces for the first time to protest against a government
policy. But this unlikely alliance has yet to transpire into
effective pressure.

Meanwhile another pressure group, students, have been largely
protesting against the same policies alone.

"We'll see how far we can go doing it alone, we haven't shut
out the possibility of joining other (protesting) elements," said
Imam Mustafa of the polytechnic student body of the University of
Indonesia.