[SP] Fwd: B. SUDJATMIKO/B. KESOWO - The Old Forces Are back in Power [P]

[Hudoyo Hupudio]

X-URL: http://www.greenleft.org.au/current/459p21.htm

INDONESIA: `The old forces are back in power'

The ouster of President Abdurrahman Wahid and his replacement by
Megawati Sukarnoputri has opened up a new, and likely volatile, era
in Indonesia.

Reprinted here, in abridged form, is an interview with Budiman
Sudjatmiko, the prominent and outspoken chairperson of the radical
leftist PRD, the People's Democratic Party, about the likely shape
of things to come in the country, from the party's daily
newsletter, Our Tasks.

What are your comments on the new Megawati government?

This new government is the fruit of the conflict among the
bourgeois elite. The essence of this conflict is the struggle for
control of economic assets, but it manifests itself as a political
conflict.

Megawati became president after she allied herself with the
surviving forces of [former dictator Suharto's] New Order - Golkar
[Suharto's political party], the armed forces and the police
(TNI/Polri)- as well as the [right-wing Muslim] Central Axis.

We know that these forces have never struggled for total
reformation. And in fact Golkar and the TNI/polri were the main
machine used for repressing the people [under] the Suharto regime.

So there is a big chance that the democratic space may narrow?

Exactly. The current government is based on a criminal
confederation of elements opposed to total reformation. The
repressive methods of the New Order are being used again.

I have received reports from our comrades in East Java that just to
hold normal prayer meetings now you must get permission from the
regional military command. Religious teachers in Pasuruhan and
Problinggo have been terrorised by the military.

So what are the prospects for finishing the process of total
reformation?

We can't expect much from the ruling elite now. Megawati is not
going to drag any of the Golkar people responsible for economic and
political crimes before the courts. All the generals responsible
for massacring the people feel safe. Megawati is in debt to these
two forces - Golkar and the TNI.

Hamzah Haz [Sukarnoputri's new vice-president] has been using his
civilian militia in Yogyakarta, the Kabah Youth Movement, to
terrorise the democracy movement, often working with Golkar. To
expect democracy from them is just daydreaming.

With this narrowing of democratic space, why is the United States
and the European Union supporting the new government?

All the talk by these capitalist countries is just empty talk. All
they are concerned about is political stability. They need stable
safe countries where they can invest their capital. They will even
support a military coup if it will benefit their capital.

Megawati has offered them this stability. In her inaugration speech
she stressed that there needed to be stability to safeguard
national integrity but made no mention of strengthening human
rights or democracy. This means that Mega will use the army to
defend national stability.

Apart from providing them with fertile fields, Megawati is also
very accommodating to international capital. International capital,
through the International Monetary Fund and its agents, will find
it easy to implement its plans for Indonesia: the cuts in consumer
price subsidies, the privatisation of state companies. Don't be
surprised if fuel prices rise again.

So what about the prospects for human rights and democracy in areas
of unrest, like Aceh and West Papua?

Of course, they are under threat too. Even before [Wahid] was
ousted, the army was carrying out massive terror in Aceh with great
loss of life.

Now with Megawati and her narrow nationalistic jargon, repressive
actions by the military will increase. We know that Megawati,
because of her narrow nationalism, did not agree with East Timor
becoming independent. The Papuan and Acehnese people who are
demanding independence will be suppressed by Megawati, with the
army as her main instrument.

So what are the tasks that face the democratic movement now?

First, I must reaffirm that the old forces of the New Order are
back in power. It is important that I say this so there is no
confusion.

Second, the democratic forces must escalate their resistance. This
is crucial if the New Order forces are to be destroyed. We must
explain this to the people too. The people's resistance must be
consolidated in organs of resistance, from the neighbourhood to the
national level.

Why not set up anti-New Order poskos [security and organising
posts] in strategic spots like markets, factories, bus terminals?
We need these to consolidate any resistance.

In the future, these poskos can be the basis for alternative
institutions to replace the rotting state institutions -
alternative parliaments, government institutions.

The people's protests must be continued as well. Golkar offices,
parliament buildings, army headquarters, government offices all
must be targets. These are the places where the forces of the New
Order still nest.

The people have to seize their sovereignty. There has to be an
early election. And it has to be carried out by a provisional
government, [whatever] we call it. There is no way we can trust
either the executive or legislative that exists today, given how it
is dominated by forces from the New Order.

A provisional government must be constituted by all the forces that
have consistently fought to destroy the power of the New Order
forces.

And so that any election is genuinely democratic, Golkar has to be
put on trial first. Golkar has to be held responsible for all its
crimes, institutional and individual.

The generals too have to be brought before the courts. The army has
to be returned to the barracks and the dual [internal political and
external defence] function of the TNI/Polri has to be dismantled in
all its aspects.


BAMBANG KESOWO - Ibu and Me

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailheadlines.asp?fileid=20010809.@04&irec=3
Headline News August 09, 2001

Megawati prioritizes political stability, govt efficiency

Bambang Kesowo, the former deputy Cabinet secretary under second
president Soeharto, served as the secretary to vice president Megawati
Soekarnoputri, and, as of Wednesday, is the temporary official
spokesman for the President. He shared with The Jakarta Post the
priorities of the new government.

Question: You might be the most powerful bureaucrat on President
Megawati Soekarnoputri's team. How would you describe your position?

Answer: Well, I'm sorry to say that we have to start everything almost
from the very beginning. But if Ibu asks me to assist her in whatever
capacity is needed, I'll do my best to help her.

What will be the President's priority?

Everybody knows that (the presidency) will be very hard. Expectations
are running high and problems must be resolved in a very short time,
in two and a half years.

What will be her top agenda in politics?

Anybody who has to carry out the obligations (as the current president
of Indonesia) would first do something like stabilize the political
situation, and seek ways of stabilizing relations between the
executive and legislative branches. Secondly, they would look at how
to improve efficiency within the government organization.

Only if these two prerequisites can be filled despite the very short
time (available), will the government be more prepared when confronted
with the threat of disintegration.

It is okay for people to express their aspirations, but without
repeatedly calling for independence. It is urgent to tackle (the
disintegration threat). Then the issue is how to provide a better
foundation and better direction about what kind of reforms we want to
address.

Up to now, nobody here has been against reforms. But the scope of
reforms must be very clear, such as how we should schedule the
demands. There has been an assumption that everybody is free to do
whatever he or she wants. That's not good for our development of
democracy (and) human rights, we need to make our rules very clear.

How about Megawati's priority in the economy?

We're thinking about how to stabilize the rupiah's exchange rate. It
is not good to have a wildly fluctuating rupiah. Then we need to
seriously face our banking sector, otherwise the real sector will not
be able to resume normalcy. In addition to the interest rate and
lending rate, it is very important to talk to the central bank on how
to manage the rate, simply to give activities a chance to operate
economically.

Regarding development, we will start questioning even ourselves on
whether we are on the right track, and learn from what has happened in
the past about our weakness in the economic foundation, and so on. The
development strategy has continued for some 30 years, but because of
the crisis, everything is now breaking down. And since we want to
start again we must learn why our situation is like what it is now.
What are our real problems, what is wrong with our strategy?

In law enforcement, we remain committed to continuing tackling
corruption. Certainly we will structure things.

On foreign affairs?

In the short term, we want to regain the trust of the international
community, the integrity of the country and the government.

How about security, is it the most urgent issue for the people?

To my understanding, a very serious concern of the President's is how
to improve the performance of law enforcers; how to bring about peace
and security. The President has summoned National Police chief Gen.
Soerojo Bimantoro and Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Sofjan Yacoeb to
instruct them to take all necessary actions to stop this "bombing
terrorism".

She has also ordered serious steps in the hunt for (businessman and
Soeharto's son Hutomo Mandala Putra) Tommy, simply because his case
has been decided by the court, and (the verdict) needs to be upheld.

Your return to the center of power is regarded as the symbol of the
revival of the bureaucracy, which was sidelined under the previous
administration.

This feeling among the public might be right. But I believe that there
is not one single state or government which can survive without two
important sources of support: first, from law enforcers and second
from the bureaucracy. Any ideas to make the government more effective,
regardless of whether they are liked or disliked, must involve the
bureaucracy. How to get the administration running is the only concern
of the bureaucrats.

What will be the President's target in her first 100 days?

It is not our custom to have such a target, that's a convention of
other countries. But what is certain is how to realize the above
prerequisites to stabilize relations between the executive and
legislative branches. Criticism is okay, but the issue is how can we
create a situation where the spirit of killing each other is no longer
present.

Then in the very short run, and this is my personal opinion, (the
target would be) how to make the working mechanism within the
government effective, while it remains in order and is transparent.

Many complain about the President's tendency to be quiet and her
avoidance of public statements.

Well, that is Ibu's character. Is there a requirement that a president
should be outspoken, and that every two hours she or he has to speak
up? (What's important is that) the flow of information, the
decision-making and the flow of decisions taken by the President can
be channeled properly and quickly to implementing agencies, to
ministers or government bodies. It's not necessary that every time the
President makes a decision she must come and speak directly to the
media. (Kornelius Purba).

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