Solidarity with arrested activists

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Solidarity with arrested activists

By Max Lane

On the night of March 13, Suharto's military agents captured three People's Democratic Party (PRD) leaders in a raid on a tenement flat in Jakarta. They were Mugianto, from the PRD's International Relations Department; Nezar Patria, active at the University of Indonesia in recent weeks; and Aan Rusidanto.

Lieutenant Colonel D.J. Nachrowi from the Jakarta military command announced in the March 16 issue of Kompas newspaper that the three were suspected of being PRD members and were involved in making bombs. On March 19, the military withdrew that allegation and stated that the three would be charged with subversion for belonging to a banned organisation.

The PRD and its affiliated organisations were banned in November, 1997, making them the only outlawed organisations in Indonesia apart from the now defunct Indonesian Communist Party.

The three activists are being charged with subversion, which carries a maximum penalty of death, and with conspiracy to engage in banned activities, which carries a maximum sentence of six years jail.

According to police Colonel Aritonang, the three contravened the subversion law by "putting forward demands and carrying out mass actions opposed to the government". The second law was contravened because the activists were suspected of having "carried out political actions such as meetings, political discussions and organising the masses".

The three are accused of carrying "communist-sounding" literature. The military also captured a laptop computer at the premises.

On March 19, Major General Syafrie Syamsoeddin, military commander for the greater Jakarta region, stated that while the three PRD activists had been handed over to the police, the military would maintain a high interest in the case.

Syamsoeddin claimed that documents discovered in the PRD flat contained Marxist and Leninist writings. He also said that the military had uncovered that the PRD had political, international relations and finances departments and that it financed its activities by membership dues of 1000 rupiah per person, the sale of publications and external donations.

In Australia, Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor (ASIET) is campaigning for the release of all political prisoners in Indonesia. Last week, ASIET launched a special appeal — the Indonesian People's Power Fighting Fund. Donations to this fund will be channelled to the People's Democratic Party, the Indonesian Centre for Labour Struggles and Students in Solidarity with Democracy in Indonesia. Please send donations or requests for more information about the political prisoners campaign and the fighting fund to ASIET, PO Box 458, Broadway NSW 2007.

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