May Sari, Jakarta – Thousands protested against the meeting of the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI) – which includes 30 donor countries and is chaired by the World Bank – on February 1. The meeting considered the Indonesian government's progress in imposing austerity, the condition for granting Jakarta's requests for further loans and "donations".

The protest was organised by the Anti-Debt Coalition (KAU), which includes trade unions, religious organisations and groups representing women, peasants and the urban poor. Some protesters who travelled from Sumatra had been forced off their land by agribusiness and manufacturing plants.

The protesters demanded that all previous debts be abolished and that new loans be refused. Opposition was expressed to the IMF's foreign debt bailout and the transformation of private debt into public debt.

The coalition argues that the Indonesian people are not responsible for repaying the debt because they were never involved in deciding to take the loans and have not benefited from them. As one member of the radical trade union, the National Front for Indonesian Labour Struggle (FNPBI), said: "When did I ask the CGI to give me money? I never did, but they ask me to pay it. How can I? I work day and night but only get Rp7000 a day."

The Indonesian government and the international financial institutions say that "donations" are the only solution to the economic crisis. But Surya Tjandra, a lawyer from the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, pointed out that around 30% of the money loaned to the Indonesian regime has been stolen by corrupt politicians and high officials, passing the debt burden on to the workers and poor.

A day before the protest, a seminar involving around 1000 people explored how the debt problem impacts on labour rights, the environment, women, corruption, poverty and human rights. The conclusions of the seminar were summarised as a statement that was given to CGI delegates.

After agreeing to meet a KAU delegation, CGI members and Indonesian government representatives failed to show up. Only the vice-president of the World Bank, Benjamin Fischer, attended. The KAU members refused to talk to him.