Indonesian solidarity with East Timor
In December 1995 a group of East Timorese independence activists and Indonesian supporters occupied the Dutch and Russian embassies in Jakarta. They climbed the embassy walls and entered the grounds, staging a protest demanding the withdrawal of all military troops from East Timor, the release of all East Timorese political prisoners and self-determination via a referendum. The protesters were eventually forced to leave the embassies, being taken to army intelligence headquarters for interrogation before being released.
These occupations were significant because it was the first time that Indonesian democracy activists have openly supported and protested alongside East Timorese calling for a free East Timor. The occupations exposed the existence of Indonesian support for the East Timorese struggle, and the link between that struggle and the movement for democracy in Indonesia itself. After Suharto came to power in Indonesia in 1965, over a million people were massacred and freedom of speech, freedom of organisation and freedom of the press were abolished. The same regime which invaded and carried out genocide in East Timor has been responsible for repressing the Indonesian people for the last 30 years.
Most of the Indonesian activists involved in the occupations were members of SMID (Student Solidarity for Democracy in Indonesia), which is one of the groups affiliated to the People's Democratic Union (PRD). SMID was formed as SSDI in 1991 when it joined the Asian Students Association and operated semi-openly due to repression for the first 2 years of its existence. It has established branches on major universities in Surabaya, Solo, Jogjakarta, Jakarta, Medan and Menado.
In 1978 the Indonesian regime banned all Student Representative Councils following a wave of student demonstrations, and all political activity on campus was outlawed. In the early 1990s struggle to reestablish a student press began, and SMID was at the forefront of this campaign. SMID has led the defence of student newspapers against attempts to ban them and has also initiated campaigns to reestablish independent SRCs, a campaign which continues.
SMID is unique amongst student organisations in that it also campaigns strongly on broader social and political issues, especially workers issues and the question of free trade unionism. SMID has been central in the promotion of the idea of a student-worker alliance. As part of this perspective of taking up broader issues, SMID is the only student organisation in Indonesia to state in its formal program support for East Timorese self-determination.
Resistance and Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor (ASIET) are organising a tour of Niko Wahlid, a leader of PRD, in June and July this year. In NSW the tour is also being organised by the National Union of Students (NSW). He will be speaking at public forums and campus meetings as well as the "East Timor: Its Future in the Asia-Pacific" Conference in Sydney (June 21-24) and the Resistance National Conference in Melbourne (July 5-7). Niko was the Secretary of SMID in Jogjakarta (one of the main university towns in Java) and more recently was involved in organising the December embassy occupations.
For more information about the tour, contact Resistance or ASIET branches in your city.