Indonesia: Inspiring book launch tour of Revolution Betrayed More than ten years after the revolutionary “reformasi” movement in Indonesia, the thirst for Marxist ideas remains unquenchable. Those ideas continue to inspire left-wing student and workers activists and induce fear among the ruling classes. The fear of communism, instilled by the terror of the Suharto dictatorship, has not completely been removed but it has been eroded.
A Monologue: Marsinah Accuses We also publish an excerpt from a monologue written by Ratna Sarumpaet (translated to English by Robyn Fallick). This monologue was written in her memory in 1997 and it has since become a tradition to perform the monologue at every May Day celebration. “Marsinah Accuses” has also been performed in many other countries.
Marsinah: An Inspiration For the Working Class Struggle Marsinah (1969-1993) was an Indonesian worker who was kidnapped by the army and brutally murdered on May 8th 1993 because of her involvement in the strike action at her workplace. She led a strike with 500 of her fellow workers, knowing full well that under the dictatorship of Soeharto her life was in danger. Marsinah has since become a symbol and inspiration for the workers’ struggle in Indonesia. Let us celebrate International Working Women’s Day and remember Marsinah by rolling up our sleeves to fight for socialism, the only way out of the misery of capitalism.
Indonesia 2009 Election Result: Where to go now? On April 9 of this year Indonesia held its fourth 'democratic' elections since its independence in 1945. What has been lacking throughout this period had been a genuine labour movement based mass workers' party. This has coloured debate on the left including the question of "boycott". What is required is a return to Lenin and a study of how he dealt with the question in the Tsarist Duma.
Indonesia: PT Istana, a factory occupied and producing under workers’ control Jorge Martin, the International Secretary of Hands Off Venezuela, in November 2008 visited an occupied factory in Indonesia, PT Istana, a textile factory in North Jakarta. Here he explains what he saw and appeals for solidarity from workers around the world.
Indonesia: Series of Strikes in the Cigarette Industry Strikes at two cigarette factories in Indonesia highlight the growing militancy of workers who receive miserable starvation wages. The strikes at PT Cakra Guna Cipta, who are organized by the SPBI and at the PT Pakis Mas cigarette factory are a clear example of this growing mood of anger and determination to win better wages and conditions.
Factory Closed, Factory Occupied in Indonesia Workers at PT Timur Selatan, a wood processing company, that produces furniture and wood products, have occupied their factory in response to the bosses’ decision to close it down. The workers need your help to keep their struggle going
Vietnam style napalm bombs used against Indonesian peasants Last week Indonesian police brutally attacked peasants defending their land rights, even using napalm bombs to destroy their homes, leading to the death of one child and leaving many injured. We issue this Solidarity Statement with the People of Suluk Bongkal Village and call on others to do the same.
Introduction to the Indonesian edition of The Permanent Revolution The Permanent Revolution by Leon Trotsky is one of the most important Marxist books of the last century. The International Marxist Tendency is producing an Indonesian edition of this book, scheduled to be published in January. We publish here the introduction written by Alan Woods.
Indonesia: Socialism is the only true path to liberate the working class A translation of a leaflet and poster being circulated by the Working People's Association (Perhimpunan Rakyat Pekerja, PRP) in Indonesia as part of a campaign by radical Indonesian trade unions to highlight class issues and socialism on May Day.
Death of a monster On January 27, 2008 General Soeharto, former dictator of Indonesia, passed away. This man was responsible for the murder of hundreds of thousands of communists in a bloody coup in 1965. Despite these monstrous crimes and his well-documented corruption the old butcher died in his bed, untouched by the law.
Just One Day Comrade (Sehari Saja Kawan) Just One Day Comrade (Sehari Saja Kawan) is one of many poems written by a well-known Indonesian poet Wiji Thukul about the strength of workers’ unity. Through the power of his words, he has inspired many youth and workers to fight against the oppressive capitalism.
Repression of Venezuela discussion in Indonesia highlights hypocrisy of West over “freedom of speech” In the midst of the hue and cry over the non-renewal of RCTV’s license in Venezuela, freedom of speech is being blatantly violated in other parts of the world. In Indonesia, an event to discuss Marta Harnecker’s book ‘Understanding the Venezuelan Revolution’ was disrupted through intimidations by the police and hooligans.
A Specter is Haunting Indonesia – The Specter of Marxism The Indonesian ruling class thought they had destroyed Marxism forever when they brutally suppressed the Communist Party of Indonesia in 1965. However, people and organizations are born and die, come and go, but ideas cannot be killed. Just ten years after the overthrow of the Suharto regime and the promise of democracy and prosperity, not much has changed in Indonesia - except that the workers and youth are searching for ideas that can lead to a fundamental transformation of society, the ideas of Marxism.
Marxism in Indonesia - Preface to the new Indonesian edition of Reason in Revolt In his preface to the recently published Indonesian edition of Reason in Revolt, Alan Woods points out that the intense anti-Islamic propaganda in the West is merely a “crude ideological cover for the pretensions and arrogance of imperialism and especially US imperialism, which seeks to dominate the entire world and subject it to its pitiless exploitation”. In answer to all this what is needed is that the rational, scientific outlook of Marxism should become the viewpoint of the labour movement in all countries.
