At around 3pm today (March 4) protesters calling themselves the Indonesian Anti-Communist Front (FAKI) attacked the East Java Regional Conference of the National Liberation Party of Unity (Papernas) in Batu City, East Java.
Some 200 participants were attending the first Papernas regional conference from 24 regencies/municipalities across East Java. Also present was the general chairperson of Papernas’ Central Leadership Committee Agus Prioyono. The actions by FAKI, which were uncivilized, anti-democratic and libelous, is the second of its kind after an attack on Papernas’ founding congress in Kaliurang, Yogyakarta, last January.
The conference organising committee had gone through all of the formal procedures required to hold the conference so it should have been protected by law enforcement officials. What happened on the ground however was that the police left the FAKI demonstrators to commit acts of terror and vandalism.
The repeated occurrence of such shameful incidents indicates that the methods of former President Suharto’s New Order regime are still being used by factions of the remnants of the New Order within the Indonesian military (TNI). A similar modus operandi was used at the Papernas founding congress in Yogyakarta, that is that the Pamungkas Yogyakarta 072 District Military Command put pressure on the Yogyakarta regional police to obstruct the congress.
This is therefore a serious violation against fundamental democratic rights, that is the right to organise, gather and the freedom of expression. In our view, these fundamental democratic rights are absolutely crucial because with these freedoms the nation has an opportunity to rise up out of impoverishment by building a people’s movement that is conscious of its economic, political, social and cultural rights.
Papernas is therefore making the following demands:
1. That the government of Presidents Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla guarantees these basic rights for all Indonesian people, by acting firmly against those forces that are anti-democratic and against progress and wish to maintain or increase their power through fascist and uncivilized means;
2. That the TNI and the national police purge its institutions of New Order factions that are anti-democratic, against national sovereignty and anti-people.
3. That national police chief General Sutanto to dismiss Batu City municipal police chief AKBP Bambang Priyo Handoko from his post for failing to provide protection and security to a event that was legitimate under the law, meaning that the municipal police have violated Law Number 2/2002 on the Indonesian National Police Force.
We call on all members and supporters of Papernas from the national level down to the grassroots not to retreat, but rather to continue political work with the people with even more spirit. This situation demonstrates that the political choice that we have taken has generated a reaction from those who are against the ideals of sovereignty for the people and the nation of Indonesia to become a reality.
We would also like to convey a request for solidarity form our sisters and brothers in Indonesia and overseas that also defend democracy and the same ideals, to lodge protest over this incident with the Indonesian government and the national police.
We have been a nation of coolies long enough, rise up to become an independent nation!
- Put and end to New Order politics!
- Defend democracy for the people’s sovereignty!
- Abolish the foreign debt!
- Nationalise the mining industry!
- Build the national industry for the welfare of the people!
Jakarta, March 4, 2007
Central Leadership Committee of the National Liberation Party of Unity
Papernas Chairperson,
Dominggus Oktavianus
[Translated by James Balowski.]
