Introduction ---- Perhimpunan Merdeka (literally "freedom association")
is a specifically anarchist organisation being formed in Indonesia, thelargest archipelagic country in the Global South. The Komite Pembentukan
(Starting Committee) of Perhimpunan Merdeka has been organising for some
years and is made of some of the most seasoned anarchist organisers in
Indonesia. ---- The anarchist movement in Indonesia is perhaps one of
the largest anarchist movements in the Global South, not unlike how like
the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) was the largest communist
movement in the former Third World (third largest in the world only
behind the Soviet Union and China) before the Indonesian genocide nearly
wiped out the left. This feat is particularly impressive, considering
that anarchism is deemed illegal under the national Indonesian ideology
of Pancasila[1]. Since anarchism first took root in the country, we have
seen how Indonesian anarchism blossomed from affinity groups towards
anarcho-syndicalism, radical publishing, abolitionist prisoner support,
mass organisations, and now the current initiative for a specifically
anarchist organisation.
Below, The Commoner interviews the Perhimpunan Merdeka and solicits
their perspective on Indonesian politics and their process of
organising. This interview has had footnotes added and been edited for
clarity with the approval of Perhimpunan Merdeka.
Can you tell us about the political situation in Indonesia? How about
West Papua?
Perhimpunan Merdeka: For years, the political situation in Indonesia was
extremely fragmented into two poles following the 2014 elections. This
was exacerbated after the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election. Such
fragmentation is divided into nationalist-chauvinist and Islamist camps.
However, since Prabowo Subianto's defeat in the 2019 elections and
approaching the 2024 elections, the configuration of the political elite
has become somewhat different, where the bloodthirsty general and
current president, Prabowo Subianto, was previously the main elite of
the Islamist group, moved to the camp of Joko Widodo, the previous
president[2]who leads the nationalist-chauvinist group. They partnered
with Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the eldest son of Joko Widodo, who actually
does not meet the constitutional requirements to run. This pair won the
election overwhelmingly. The former special forces commander Prabowo
himself is one of the military elites involved in a series of
human-rights violations during the New Order era (1966-1998). The elite
forces under his leadership, Kopassus, and the chairman of Tim Mawar
(Rose Team), an informal group of these special forces, were involved in
the kidnapping and disappearance of anti-New Order activists in the late
1990s.
With the consolidation of the two previously hostile elite groups, the
political situation in Indonesia has led to increasingly authoritarian
tendencies. Since 2019, there have been various large demonstrations in
Indonesia from civil society movements consisting of students, labour
unions, and NGOs. These demos have included anarchist elements under the
spirit of "Reformasi dikorupsi"[3]due to a number of draconian
regulations that aim to discipline the people and their resistance. From
the plan to issue a new RKUHP[4], Omnibus Law[5], weakening of the
Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), and a number of other
regulations that are considered to limit civil and political freedoms.
Previously in May 2019, the Islamist faction that supported Prabowo
Subianto at that time held a large demonstration against the results of
the 2019 election, which were considered manipulated. At the same time,
in West Papua there were also large demonstrations that took place in
almost all cities on the island due to incidents of racism and attacks
on Papuan students in Surabaya, East Java.
The Joko Widodo political regime, both through state instruments such as
the military, police, intelligence, and the ministry of information, as
well as unofficial instruments such as political shock troops,
consistently framed all criticisms and demonstrations as actions
spearheaded by Islamist groups who want to establish an Islamic
caliphate and carry out treason. This conditioning process has meant
that various protest efforts and social movements face challenges from
the wider mainstream community, which supports the government due to the
populism and personality cult built by Joko Widodo. This condition is
likely to continue in the new era of Prabowo's presidency because of the
large role that Joko Widodo still plays in the new government. Moreover,
Prabowo has a track record as a figure with chauvinistic and
authoritarian tendencies.
Regarding the situation in West Papua, the independence movement began
after Indonesia's annexation of West Papua through a fake referendum
known as Pepera 1969. The complicated situation after Indonesia's
independence from the Netherlands also had implications for the
situation in West Papua, which at that time became land contested by the
Netherlands, Indonesia, and even Australia and the United States. The
first generation of the West Papua independence movement was started by
a tribal chief from Demta District named Aser Demotekay, with a movement
base based on non-violence and spiritualist principles. This principle
of non-violence then faded away and was eclipsed by a more radical
movement under the leadership of Jacob Prai.
After the 1969 Pepera, which was carried out fraudulently and through
military intimidation, West Papua was officially annexed into Indonesia.
On December 1, 1971, the Free Papua Movement (Organisasi Papua Merdeka,
OPM) declared the independence of the Republic of West Papua, and this
was then followed by the formation of an armed wing. The guerrilla war
became more intense after the declaration with the targeting of the US
mining company Freeport.
West Papua is currently the most underdeveloped region in Indonesia,
with high poverty rates, poor education and health levels, and mass
transmigration policies that tighten Indonesia's colonial grip . The
massive support for the independence movement, both through armed wings
such as West Papua National Liberation Army (Tentara Pembebasan Nasional
Papua Barat, TPNPB) and the West Papua Army (WPA), and non-violent
movements such as National Committee for West Papua (KNPB), Aliansi
Mahasiswa Papua (Papua Student Alliance, AMP), and the United Liberation
Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), has made West Papua into a war zone.
The level of violence against indigenous Papuans by the Indonesian army
(TNI) and police (POLRI) is very high, and impunity continues under the
pretext of civilian victims being OPM combatants. West Papua is also
isolated from both national and international media. Journalists are not
allowed to conduct independent coverage, and the presence of the
TNI/POLRI is massive in all sectors, especially in the mountainous areas
that are the base of OPM combatants. Genocide has been carried out by
Indonesia post-annexation, both directly such as the killing of
non-combatant civilians with impunity, and indirectly such as through
mass transmigration (settler colonialism), imprisonment and
disappearance of Papuan activists and leaders, structural
impoverishment, massive environmental destruction through various mining
and plantation companies, and economic and development isolation.
As anarchists, we have a position of supporting and standing in
solidarity with the West Papuan independence movement. We support the
right to self-determination and independence for every colonised nation.
For us, it is impossible to claim to be anti-authoritarian anarchists
but not to stand in solidarity with those who are fighting against the
most horrific form of authoritarianism, which is colonialism. We stand
with the people of West Papua to determine their own fate[6]. To our
knowledge, we have not found anarchist contacts in the West Papuan
movement, but more established anarchist movements elsewhere in
Indonesia such as in Salatiga, Yogyakarta, and Malang often stand in
line with the pro-independence Papuan student movement. One of our
members once wrote in more detail about anarchist support for West
Papuan independence.
What is your analysis of the State, capitalism, and imperialism in
Indonesia?
Perhimpunan Merdeka: For much of the New Order reign (1966-1998),
Suharto and his military clique, along with their extended families,
managed Indonesia like their personal toy. Their economic and political
interests fostered nepotism, which evolved into a more complex crony
capitalism, heavily guarded by bureaucratic and military machines that
acted also as rent-seekers. They milk the system and combine it with
neoliberal policies as a collateral to be able to continue to get
foreign loans as they try to maximise profits. This Indigenous military
system brings devastating consequences to workers, farmers, and
indigenous people. For decades, it created nightmares for ordinary
people's lives. Poverty ballooned as living conditions deteriorated. In
this environment, where every resistance from marginalised people was
met with deadly repression from the government, student and youth
political movements, benefiting from stable economic life and some
degree of standardised education, began to organise slowly and created
strong bonds with the people.
By practising this kind of capitalism, the New Order became one of the
first local elite administrators in Indonesia to massively introduce the
global market system to Indonesian society and way of life. While
enduring European colonisation for hundreds of years until Indonesia's
independence, the first government administrator-the Sukarno era, also
called the Old Order-leaned towards isolationist practices in every
field of this new nation.
The military regime's attacks on Indonesian society culminated in a
series of economic riots. And in early 1998, along with the Asian
Financial crisis, it morphed into a political movement when millions of
people took to the streets in demonstrations and managed to topple
Suharto's family from the top of the government bodies[7]. Within
months, the uprising cooled down, and very quickly, the global and local
elites in the government reconciled and set up operations and policies
that leaned towards neoliberal agreements (structural adjustment),
opening up local markets and resources more to the global market.
In the 26 years after the Reformasi with five governing presidents, the
State has increasingly reduced people's access to land, housing, energy,
and food, and this in turn has become the main cause of poverty. These
were direct results of years of tight collaboration between global and
local elites guarding neoliberal policies to remove fuel subsidies and
open rice and all food trade to a free-market system. They destroyed all
limitations and obstacles to maximise profit, including tariffs, laws,
and old practices.
They managed to do all of this while whitewashing it under the guise of
corruption and poverty eradication (opening up rice and all food prices
to the demand of the market), land ownership to small farmers (to grab
huge chunks of restrictive/conservation forest), and green energy
slogans and campaigns. In 10 years under Jokowi Widodo, corruption was
rampant, while the government's huge infrastructure projects consumed
the State budget and created incredible foreign debts. This, combined
with the food estate project and opening up raw material mining all over
Indonesia to satisfy the hungry global interest, created huge,
unthinkable consequences for the forests, indigenous people, and
ordinary people of Indonesia in villages, remote islands, and even big
cities.
At this moment, workers' and union rights have shrunk to conditions
similar to the New Order era. The neoliberal credo has been to create
discipline among the working class and a sort of proletarian discipline
to let the economy grow and bring prosperity to society. While the
Reformasi era was marked by the opening up of democracy and improved
rights for ordinary people to self-organise and create organisations,
the post-Reformasi era has been about closing off all of these traits
while attacking workers' rights, union rights, minorities, West Papuans,
and all other indigenous people in their own lands.
Can you tell us about the situation of the left in Indonesia? Where do
you situate yourselves in the Indonesian left (even if or especially as
"post-left")? What do anarchists do differently from the other left groups?
Perhimpunan Merdeka: The left-wing groups in Indonesia are highly
fragmented. The 1965 massacres by the Suharto military government,
supported by the US, completely destroyed the entire left spectrum[8].
The left-wing movement began to re-emerge in the 1980s, peaking with the
formation of the People's Democratic Party (PRD) in 1996.
Simultaneously, anarchism also emerged when the punk subculture entered
Indonesia in the 1990s. As such, anarcho-punk is still prevalent in
many underground music scenes today. Some anarchists of that era joined
the PRD, making the PRD a mix of various leftist theories, from
anarchist minorities to more numerous leftist-nationalists, socialists,
and various Marxist-Leninists. When the Suharto government fell in 1998,
the PRD also split into several pioneering parties, including very
reformist and moderate groups. Meanwhile, anarchists took the
initiative to form informal networks or synthetic federations that did
not last long.
Perhimpunan Merdeka (PM) is the first especifista federation that
mirrors the practices and experiences of the Uruguayan Anarchist
Federation (FAU), the Rio de Janeiro Anarchist Federation (FARJ), Black
Rose/Rosa Negra Anarchist Federation (BRRN), and other groups.
Initially, our proposals were widely ridiculed due to the strong
anti-organisational tendencies that exist in Indonesia. For many other
Indonesian anarchists, federation, unity of theory, and unity of
strategy or tactics are strange things. We are used to not moving within
anarchist political organisations. Instead, we move within collectives
that are completely autonomous from each other, loosely and informally
networking. These have various experiences of direct action mutual aid
and involvement in very sporadic organising efforts at the social level
(mostly evictions, the rest in the punk subculture, student movements,
and a few in the labour movement). Eventually, many militant anarchists
became relatively isolated. Their practices evaporated either because
they were undocumented and not passed down, or due to a lack of synergy
between regions and even between collectives and communities, which
tended to be dragged into the agendas of more organised liberal or
leftist activists. When several waves of protests occurred in 2019,
2020, and 2024, anarchists became catalysts for rebellion, and
street-fighting tactics successfully inspired many students and people,
although most of them did not identify as anarchists. Currently, it is
difficult to deny that anarchism has a broad influence. These waves of
protests were indeed able to radicalise the masses but still maintained
their nature as fluid masses. Additionally, more agile and organised
leftist and liberal organisations managed to harvest many new members
whenever such large actions subsided. We observed that they experienced
rapid development.
So far, our position is free-active[9]and relatively non-sectarian. We
are connected with anarchists from old networks, regardless of their
tendencies. At the same time, we also interact with leftists and
liberals who are active at the social level, maintaining a healthy
distance. Our challenge is to keep the social movement non-partisan, as
almost all major sectors today, both Marxist and liberal, have pushed
electoral strategies into the social movement. Our competitors are the
Labour Party (Partai Buruh) and several progressive liberal factions
that always try to sign political contracts and lobby politicians. Our
task going forward is to ensure that the movement does not try to
nominate representatives in the parliamentary system, but rather carries
out its own politics and make its own policies, so that everyone in the
movement can discuss all their issues in the most democratic and
non-hierarchical way. We are very optimistic that, in the near future,
we will be stronger in providing influence in the social movement, and
making it more libertarian. The electoral support for progressive
candidates is still low, and the promises of politicians during their
campaigns are often broken and not fulfilled, so hopefully, people will
get used to disappointment and start to realise that they need more
direct methods to achieve their own short-term goals. We hope to be
there at the right time alongside the people as they struggle for direct
action and make those victories a learning model for the people's
movement in other sectors.
"Indonesia, administrative divisions." Wikimedia Commons.
Can you tell us about your efforts in creating a specifically anarchist
organisation? How national is your organisation-in-formation? Or is it a
local federation?
Perhimpunan Merdeka: Establishing an anarchist organisation in Indonesia
has been a long journey, marked by small experiments within the
social-movement sphere. Previously, Indonesian anarchists operated
sporadically, but in the years leading up to the birth of Perhimpunan
Merdeka (starting around 2011), some anarchists began to engage in
social interventions using more binding frameworks, although initially
ad hoc in nature.
In short, PM was first declared in 2015 in Makassar, Sulawesi/Celebes
Island, but became inactive in 2021. Based on the initiative of
militants in Yogyakarta, Java Island, PM was revived as the Starting
Committee of (KP-PM) in the two cities of Yogyakarta and Makassar in 2024.
Currently, the PM is in the midst of an initiative to develop a national
federation. Our territory continues to grow, along with the education
and recruitment process that takes place online and offline. We are
present in at least five cities and regions, not to mention our isolated
individual members who are spread across several cities that are not yet
ready to be called regions. We are aiming to have a congress in 2028.
In addition, we also have an initiative to gather sympathisers from
Indonesian anarchists abroad, connect them with each other, and continue
to inform them about our agenda here. In addition, we encourage them to
connect with movements, especially anarchist organisations in their
respective countries.
Can you tell us about your process of choosing especifismo as a guiding
theory? As opposed to say other theories of anarchist organisation
(synthesist, pluralist, syndicalist, etc.)
Perhimpunan Merdeka: Many of us were introduced to anarchism through
popular publications like CrimethInc and various individualist,
insurrectionist, and post-left anarchist readings. Only a few of us come
from labour movements and anarcho-syndicalism. There was a time when the
ideas of Max Stirner, Alfredo M. Bonanno, Ted Kaczynski, and Bob Black
were very popular among anarchist circles in Indonesia. At that time,
the idea of organisation felt very distant because knowledge about
anarchism was still very limited, and only a few people knew about it.
Some of us were involved in developing other types of organisations,
namely anarcho-syndicalist and synthesist groups. However, these
collectives proved unsuitable or failures. This was due, first, to a
lack of technical knowledge about anarchist organisation, and second, to
a lack of strategy to blend with the broader masses.
While especifismo in Latin America often comes from militant
anarcho-syndicalist labour movements, especifismo in Indonesia often
comes from small informal groups influenced by insurrectionist and
individualist ideas. With the spread of especifista texts, we evaluated
past practices and developed our current thinking. After various
organising efforts in the past, we found that especifismo explains
anarchist organising the most comprehensively, so we intend to try this
approach. Clearly, we still believe that individual freedom is as
important as collective freedom, and we hope that anarchism will once
again be useful at the mass level[10].
So anarchism in each context has some specific concerns for that
particular context. In the Philippines, it takes the form of responding
and reacting to the dominance of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
In India, it takes anti-caste as one of its positions. What are
Indonesian-specific concerns of anarchism in Indonesia?
Perhimpunan Merdeka: In the overall history of contemporary social and
political movements in Indonesia post-1965, issues of democratisation
and anti-militarism have coloured the people's struggle against the
State. After the Reformasi era, with the opening of doors and a strong
push for democracy, the issues, programs, and concerns of the people's
movement have become more diverse.
The main concerns in the emerging anarchist political movement in
Indonesia can be said to have varied focuses and gradations. In both
urban and rural areas, issues of land and living-space confiscation have
become magnets for contemporary anarchist movements. This movement then
permeates from defending the people in cities, villages, and indigenous
communities to programs defending humans and nature as a whole, labour,
collective organic farming, self-management, and so on. In urban areas,
issues such as anti-police, self-defence against arrests, resistance to
detention, and football supporter issues also become focal points.
Just as the student-people movement before and during the Reformasi era
created a common enemy (the Suharto regime), we believe that the
anarchist political movement will eventually converge on a common issue,
and history will prove it.
What do you make of the intrigues between China/Russia/DPRK and the
USA/Japan/S.Korea/Australia in Southeast and East Asia?
Perhimpunan Merdeka: In the past, especially during the Cold War and the
rise of Old Communist politics in Indonesia, the country and its
population were very outward-looking and concerned with international
issues. However, nowadays, believe it or not, such issues do not
significantly influence political conversations among ordinary people or
even State officials. Due to the depoliticisation throughout the New
Order era, most people consider these matters too distant to be
concerned with. We also share the same view, finding them too far
removed to comment on.
In Indonesia, people tend to look inward rather than outward, except for
issues related to Palestine and national sovereignty. Even when there
are issues like maritime boundary violations or the entry of Chinese
surveillance ships into Indonesian waters, the public does not see them
as close issues. These concerns are mainly the domain of military
enthusiasts who praise the military when successful and criticise the
government for not providing additional funds to the military if the
Indonesian military's performance is perceived as poor when facing
foreign forces. All and all, militarists still will win any conversation
regarding international conflicts.
We see a lot of news about deforestation, biodiversity loss, and other
forms of environmental destruction in Indonesia. To what extent has such
land-use change been normalised in Indonesian society, and what measures
(if any) are being taken to resist it?
Perhimpunan Merdeka: We live in a country heavily influenced by
religious fundamentalism, militarism, various feudal practices, land
ownership inequality, and the destruction of tropical rainforests due to
industrialisation (mining and plantations). Although it cannot be
verified, many institutions agree that the data showing 1% of
Indonesia's population controls 75% of the land is somewhat accurate. In
Java, the conversion of agricultural land into residential and
industrial areas has threatened national rice production. To compensate,
the government has repeatedly attempted land clearing since the 1990s,
most of which has failed and been destructive.
Although this is a real threat and anarchists are aware of it, there has
not been much intervention by anarchists. People fighting to protect
their ancestral lands, against development projects that displace them,
and the destruction of natural rainforests mostly struggle alone or are
accompanied by liberal activists. Most of these efforts are campaign
activities and mere slogans, and their strategies are less effective,
often because they operate within the NGO framework. Meanwhile, more
militant anarchists are sometimes isolated in peripheral areas.
It must be acknowledged that for two decades since the 1998 Reformasi,
anarchists have been concentrated in major cities on the island of Java.
As a result, anarchist discourse and texts in Indonesian are very
urban-centric. Students who study in Java tend to stay in the city, or
if they return to the village, their radicalism fades. Therefore, it
seems that Perhimpunan Merdeka (PM) prioritises reaching militant
anarchists who are isolated in rural and remote areas. The sectors we
build will include struggles that have been neglected or, although
highlighted, have received little anarchist intervention.
Most importantly, there is a high level of criminalization and use of
violence by security apparatus and gangsters (thugs). We must also be
prepared for the risks and dangers of facing a developmentalist regime
that continues to transform our landscapes into uninhabitable areas.
Therefore, we feel that the especifista strategy is also appropriate, as
public support is crucial for various direct actions to respond to this
violence.
Do you have any international connections to other anarchist groups and
organisations? If so, what does your collaboration with international
partners look like? How best can we support your efforts?
Perhimpunan Merdeka: We have connected with a large number of specific
and platformist anarchist organisations worldwide. Usually, we only
share information, but at times, we ask about the practice of
organisational dualism, social work, and the structure of anarchist
federations. We have not and have never received international
donations, and our financial sources are quite independent. Our
organisational and social work is carried out voluntarily and part-time.
As the intensity of organising and class-war tensions increase amid the
crisis, we may take drastic actions and escalate our militancy (as seen
in the 2024 protest wave).
We have networked with anarchist comrades in Southeast Asia, who are
currently active in their respective regions. Through this network,
"boring" work such as translation, editing, documentation, and
dissemination of useful texts on various websites and media takes place.
This network is especially helpful for supporting anarchist and
anti-authoritarian prisoners in the region.
In our opinion, the best support that can be given is to connect the
social levels in each country where anarchists are organising. Even a
video statement of solidarity can greatly encourage farmers and workers
who are struggling, as they feel heard and supported. Therefore, we need
to revive the spirit of internationalism to sharpen the perspective of
class struggle. Hopefully, in the near future, we will also be able to
broadcast more news from grassroots struggles here.
Is there anything else you'd like to add that we did not ask?
Perhimpunan Merdeka: You can get more info by subscribing to our social
media and website (mostly in Indonesian, though).
Instagram: @kp.perhimpunanmerdeka
Website: perhimpunanmerdeka.org
Footnotes
1. Pancasila refers to the "five precepts" that govern the formal
politics of Indonesia. These are: (1) belief in the Almighty, (2) a just
and civilised humanity, (3) the unity of Indonesia as a whole, (4)
guided democracy, and (5) social justice for all Indonesians.
2. Joko Widodo finished his two terms of five years as president.
3. In 2019, Indonesian protests were organised under the slogan
"Reformasi dikorupsi" or "Reformasi is being corrupted." The Reformasi
era is the post-dictatorship period of Indonesian history beginning from
the resignation of the dictator Suharto in 1998 and the end of the New
Order.
4. "Revisi Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Pidana" or Law Book of Penal Code.
5. Omnibus Law on Job Creation.
6. See also Anarchism and the Liberation of West Papua, also published
by The Commoner.
7. This revolution marked the end of the dictatorship known as the New
Order and the beginning of the contemporary Reformasi era.
8. This is also known internationally as the 1965-1966 Indonesian genocide.
9. "Free-active" is a direct translation of bebas aktif, which refers to
autonomy and independent action. Bebas aktif is also a word associated
with the Non-Aligned Movement, an old international relations project of
Indonesia that rejected both the American and Soviet blocs during the
Cold War.
10. By "mass level," PM clarifies on the level of the social sector of
the public, advocating for anarchism as a mass movement not only limited
to activists, such as that in the Spanish Revolution. Their aim, they
clarify, would be for anarchism to be something that people learn about
and fight for when they start their journey against injustice.
https://www.thecommoner.org.uk/organising-anarchists-amidst-authoritarian-consolidation-in-indonesia-an-interview-with-perhimpunan-merdeka/
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