Sam King, Jakarta – PRD activists in Jakarta again took to the streets in protest of the previous days military attack, once again calling for the disqualification of Golkar party from the elections for election rigging and demanding the withdrawal of the dual function of the military.
Most of the PRD members who rallied the previous day again gathered for a second protest action. The numbers from the PRD were down from July 1 due to the number of injured. They were either still in hospital, couldn't walk the 5 kilometers from the legal aid institute weaving to the KPU or were considered in a condition not fit join an action that may well be attacked by the police or military.
Public and media interest in the rally was immense. The previous day's bloodshed had filled the front covers of every major paper in Indonesia that morning also receiving massive television and radio coverage. The media pack together with sympathisers and on lookers outnumbered the rally of 1000 people. Also the PRD branches organised solidarity actions in most major Indonesian cities.
The Jakarta rally again weaved the same route as the previous day but was unable to arrive at the KPU building and meet the hundreds of supporters from the mass student organisation FORKOT and others who were waiting because the street was blockaded by hundreds of police and a water tank. After entering the street of the KPU the PRD locked in by police who blockaded all possible entrances and exits, the total number of police exceeding 500.
The rally again demanded to meet with the KPU officials, to discus the issues surrounding Golkar's ballot fraud, money politics, intimidation and to demand their disqualification from the election.
PRD KPU member Aan Rustianto was chief negotiator for the PRD, discussing with KPU officials the possibility of allowing the rally to enter the KPU. Aan replaced Hendri Kuok in this position day before as Kouk had been forced into temporary hiding after police entered his office in the KPU the previous night and demanded his arrest for his role in the PRD action yesterday. Kuok refused, demanding to see the warrant for his arrest and the exact charges against him. He ignored police directives to go to the police station for questioning and the police left, perhaps fearful of the political repercussions of arresting a KPU member in his office.
After initial reluctance the KPU officials finally agreed to allow the rally to enter the building, however the police were not so easily swayed refusing to remove their lines off the street.
Aan gave a fiery speech explaining the situation and the police's refusal to co-operate with the will of both sides. Eventually the head of the KPU Rudini crossed the police lines to speak with the rally. Rudini admitted the widespread presence of election fraud, naming West Papua as a particularly bad area. However he then claimed that the KPU itself had no power to punish Golkar or anyone for cheating even in the presence of proof. He said the Election Monitoring Committee (Panwaslu) held the authority to take that action. Head of Panwaslu, Todung Mulya Lubis, has been often quoted in the Indonesian press as saying only the Police hold that power as it is a criminal issue.
Not disorientated by the bureaucratic volleyball, the mood of the rally remained determined and lively. Many of the injured spoke, their oration was always interspersed with songs and chants of struggle of the Indonesian people's movement. Most of the injured speakers were members from other provinces, who vowed to take the momentum created by the last two days back to the PRD bases in there home towns and cities.
PRD speakers admitted they alone couldn't overcome the police on the street, the military's role in politics or Golkar's manipulation today but vowed to continue the PRD's mass organisation and political education to the point were the people can force the disqualification of Golkar and a completion of the democratic revolution started last year.
[Sam King is an ASIET member who was present when police fired on PRD protesters in Jakarta on the afternoon of July 1. This article will appear in the July 7 issue of Green Left Weekly - James Balowski.]