Exploring Political Violence in Southeast Asia: Who Controls Indonesia’S Satgas Parpol?
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ScholarBank@NUS EXPLORING POLITICAL VIOLENCE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA: WHO CONTROLS INDONESIA’S SATGAS PARPOL? MAGGIE LEE A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FUFILMENT OF THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN SOUTHEAST ASIAN STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN STUDIES NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE 2004 i Acknowledgements This thesis would never have been completed without the generous help of my supervisor, Dr. Priyambudi Sulistiyanto, the first link in a long chain of peerless friends and contacts. First, I must thank Dr. Pratikno of Gadja Mada University, and his colleague to whom he introduced me, Pak Widyaharto. Pak Widya helped me meet several kind informants from Yogyakarta, whom I also thank without using their names. Thanks also to the great staff at Realia language school in Yogyakarta, especially Ibu Astrid, Ibu Etik, Mas Guntur and Mbak Bintan. Thanks also to Lucy Tan at NUS for helping me with all practical matters. And thanks to my husband for bearing with me. ii Table of Contents: Acknowledgements.....................................................................................................................i Table of Contents:......................................................................................................................ii Summary ..................................................................................................................................iii List of Tables............................................................................................................................ vi List of Illustrations.................................................................................................................... vi Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 2 Literature Review................................................................................................................... 7 Chapter 1: Violent Contentious Politics, their Causes and Characteristics................................. 14 Low Level Political Violence................................................................................................ 14 Structural Prerequisites for Low-level Political Violence....................................................... 15 Characteristics of Political Violence in Thailand and the Philippines ..................................... 33 Proximate Causes of Political Violence in Indonesia ............................................................. 42 Chapter 2: Political Militias in Indonesia, 1945 – 1998............................................................. 51 Political Paramilitaries, 1950 - 1965 ..................................................................................... 68 Political Violence for and against the New Order, 1965-1997................................................ 75 A Short Case Study: Pemuda Pancasila............................................................................... 102 May 1998, the End of Suharto ............................................................................................ 104 Chapter 3: A Focus on Yogyakarta, 1999 – 2004 ................................................................... 107 Overview of National Politics............................................................................................. 107 The 1999 and 2004 Elections in Yogyakarta ....................................................................... 112 Chapter 4: Yogyakarta’s Satgas Speak................................................................................... 131 Conclusion............................................................................................................................. 166 Appendix A: Glossary........................................................................................................... 176 Bibliography.......................................................................................................................... 177 iii Summary In Indonesia, each political party has a “security task force” charged with protecting party members, ensuring orderly meetings, and providing security and logistics at gatherings. However, these satgas parpol are associated more with intimidation, militarism, and carrying weapons than with ensuring the peace. This thesis explains the role of satgas parpol through a historical perspective. It also examines how that role has changed in Yogyakarta since 1998. Chapter one discusses other cases of political violence in the Philippines and Thailand to assemble a list of prerequisites for political violence within Southeast Asia. By comparing satgas parpol with groups in the Philippines and Thailand, I argue that the prerequisites for the violence are the same in all three countries: a state that cannot or will not stop political violence, sponsors who buy and use thugs, and young men willing to take employment as thugs. In the three countries, the organizations and sponsors are different, but the structure is the same. Having constructed a theoretical framework, the thesis looks more closely at political party militias in Indonesia. The next chapter discusses the history of the relationship among satgas parpol, the political parties, and the state, and satgas parpol since Reformasi in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Satgas Parpol originated in Revolutionary era militias. These early militiamen were a mix of opportunists and idealists; but almost all were young. The legacy of these militiamen was a “youth consciousness” among Indonesian young iv people, characterized by the youths’ belief in their duty to involve themselves in politics, with violence if necessary. This youth consciousness explains much of the appeal of satgas parpol membership and organizational élan. The sometimes violent thuggery of satgas parpol is also due to the repressive political climate of Suharto’s Indonesia (1965 – 1998). During this time, the government allowed no political debate and no criticism. Thus, to Indonesians of the 1960s, 70s, 80s, and 90s, politics were a dangerous activity. The satgas parpol of the emasculated opposition parties saw themselves as brave patriots fighting a dangerous battle against bad government. The third chapter shows that since 1998 in Yogyakarta, satgas parpol are much less violent than in the rest of the country. This is due to Yogyakarta’s special political climate characterized by the Sultanate, the Universities and civil society. The fourth chapter shows that satgas leaders in Yogyakarta have made serious efforts to end violence in their city, but that problems with weapons-carrying and thuggery still exist. This thesis concludes that for each party, the satgas are commanded differently; some are under the control of parties, some are not. However, they will not be disbanded, but they may become simple logistics committees or an ornamental honor guard, not real security. Furthermore, politicking in the Philippines and Thailand show us that v elections in newer Southeast Asian democracies need not be violent; in fact, politicking in Indonesia should become more money-based as time goes on. vi List of Tables Table 1: Prerequisites of Political Violence in Southeast Asia.......................................................... 32 Table 2: 1999 and 2004 Indonesian Parliamentary Election Results ............................................... 127 Table 3: Levels of Local Government in Indonesia........................................................................ 175 List of Illustrations Illustration 1: Maps of Indonesia and Yogyakarta……..……………………….……………………....1 Illustration 2: Satgas PPP at the funeral of Moses Gatutkaca…………………………….………….147 Illustration 3: Satgas PPP’s New Motto……………………………………………………………...148 Illustration 4: PDI-P Satgas in Surabaya, June 6, 2003………………………………………………159 Illustration 5: A happy voter………………………………………………………………………….165 Illustration 6: Kids at a polling station………………………………...……………………………..165 Illustration 7: Post-Election headline……...…………………………………………………………173 1 Illustration 1: Maps of Indonesia and Yogyakarta 2 Introduction Imagine this scene: the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta, 1999, in the heady, early days of the Reformasi movement that had just kicked an aging, corrupt, autocratic Suharto out of office after 33 years. At an intersection along Jalan Malioboro, a busy shopping street for locals and tourists, there’s some kind of gathering with music, lights and cooking. A group of activists espousing liberal causes such as homeless persons’ rights and anti-militarism are having an all-night rally. They’re cooking, listening to music, networking, and collecting clothes for distribution to the poor. In the dark of night, a bright light swings across the crowd. The activists hear a vehicle engine. A car turns toward them and speeds at the crowd. People run, and the car slams into their cooking braziers, knocking them down, and starting a fire that ruins everything at the rally: banners, clothes, musical instruments, papers, everything. No one is injured or killed, but the rally is over and the activists have been scared. The next day, an account appears in the newspaper (Jawa Pos, May 20, 1999). The rally’s ruin was no accident. In fact, someone quite openly takes responsibility for it: the head of security for a political party, the PPP. The man, Syarif Hidayat, says he had his men attack the rally because area residents