Did Dita do it?

Did Dita do it?

By Max Lane

@box text intro = On June 12, the private Indonesian TV station SCTV broadcast a report stating that riots had broken out in Medaeng prison, Surabaya.

Dita Sari, president of the Indonesian Centre for Labour Struggles (PPBI), which is affiliated to the People's Democratic Party (PRD), is imprisoned in Medaeng, serving a five-year sentence.

The riot began when 300 prisoners forced their way out of the prison, bashing the guards and damaging the gates. Other prisoners soon followed. The gate was finally forced open and part of the prison set on fire.

The SCTV news broadcast showed fully armed troops and firefighters arriving at the scene. The women prisoners have been evacuated and the male prisoners have been moved to other prisons.

There were also riots at Medaeng prison during the election campaign. Then prison authorities accused Dita Sari of being behind the riots because the prisoners were all chanting: "Long live Dita!" and "Long live the PRD!".

This time, the news reports state that the riots were organised by "an element", whose cell is in prison block F. Green Left Weekly's sources in Jakarta report that Dita Sari is located in block F.

From GLW issue 278