Introduction

The following discussion was written based on
interviews conducted by Jurnal Bersatu (Journal of
Unity) editorial staff with a number of people’s
organisations. The spectrum and “political
groupings” along with the sectors and class of
organisation were several of the considerations in
the choice of the groups that were interviewed.
Nevertheless there were two organisations – the
People’s Movement Alliance for Agrarian Reform
(AGRA) and the United People’s Party (PPR) who on
the eve of the publication of this journal were
unable to be interviewed.

Student organisations

Ken, Indonesian Student Union (SMI)

The education sector in Indonesia is increasingly
moving towards privatisation. This appears in the
form of regulations, such as the Law on the National
Eduction System. The impact of the implementation of
these regulations is first, depoliticisation both in
the form of prohibitions on student mass
organisations developing their activities on campus
and because education is being turned into a simple
business, so that it neglects quality education with
a populist character, which in its turn becomes an
obstacle for the development of progressive forces
on campus. Secondly, the draft Law on the Education
Legal Board (BHP) that will close the opportunities
for low-income people to obtain a tertiary
education. All of this will further impede the
strength of the productive forces in Indonesia.

The principle issues facing the student movement

The most urgent issue is how to campaign for the
broadest possible capitalisation (sic) of the
eduction sector, because this is closely linked with
the state of productive forces in Indonesia, which
is a prerequisite to strengthen the national
industry. There have been two organisations that
have been quite consistent over the issue the draft
BHP law – the SMI and the National Student Front
(FMN). The difference between them is that the FMN’s
focus is on providing 20 percent of the budget for
education, while the SMI’s focus has been on
education that is free, scientific and has a
populist vision.

The current state of the student movement

In terms of issues, there are still student
movements that take up general issues that very
distant from students level of consciousness. If the
student movement wants to win a certain demand, so
that concretely it can become a basic experience
that demonstrates the effectiveness of the student
struggle, these general issues must be combined with
concrete issues.

In terms of the movement, generally, the student
movement is indeed weak, but it still exists. At the
national level, there is still the SMI and the FMN
which are progressive in character, while at the
local level, many student organisations are still
emerging that do not have an affiliation with an
organisation at the national level. The perspective
of local struggles must indeed be changed into a
national perspective. Now, issues of the
capitalisation of education cannot radicalise
students as it did in 1998 because the student
movement at the moment does not yet have a clear
perspective in reading the state of society.

Aims of the struggle

For the SMI the aim of the struggle in national
liberation, which will be achieved only by means of
developing a strong national industry with a
populist character, genuine structural agrarian
reform, the nationalisation of vital assets and the
abolition of the foreign debt. All of this can be
carried out through the mass movements by the
people’s sectors and organisations.

Student movement unity

The need for solidarity in the student movement is
already understood. The SMI itself has already
succeeded in building a strategic consolidation with
a number of local organisations. In late 2007 for
example, the Liberation Study Group (KSP). In the
North Sumatra provincial capital of Medan merged
with the SMI. Currently, the SMI is also in the
process of developing a more strategic consolidation
with the Unikarta Student Action Front (FAMU) and
other local organisations that exist in Jakarta,
Lampung (South Sumatra), Lumajang (East Java) and
Jember (East Java). So ideas about struggling
separately are starting to disappear, the problem is
how can all of this be united.

In order to achieve the aim of national liberation,
it requires that the student movement unite with the
other people’s sectors. The SMI itself is currently
undertaking joint work with a number of other
people’s organisations, both at the national as well
as the local level, such as the Workers Challenge
Alliance (ABM), the Karawang Peasants Union
(Sepetak, West Java), the Greater Jakarta Workers
Federation of Struggle (FPBJ) in Cikarang (West
Java), the Batang Farmers Federation of Struggle
(FPPB, Central Java) and the Pekalongan Farmers
Federation of Struggle (FPPP, Central Java).

Political parties

The SMI is not allergic to a political party, but
the problem is what kind of political party.
Political struggle through mass organisations does
indeed have its limits. The SMI itself along with a
number of organisations that have similar views are
endeavouring to change the character of the social
movements into a political movement. As a tool in
the future it will of course be more revolutionary
compared with the mass organisations.

The 2OO9 elections

The 2009 elections should be addressed as a way to
enlarge the strength of the mass movements in the
context of challenging the hegemony of the existing
bourgeois parties. Here, there are many methods that
could be undertaken, but this is dependent upon the
reading of the territorial situation. What is more
important than the 2009 elections is understanding
the national situation in order that it can become a
basis to propagandise more broadly in the context of
building a bigger mass movement.