Description of Made in Indonesia.
In one of the opening acts of today's global justice movement,
a dynamic new labor movement emerged in Indonesia in the 1990s, helping to bring
down the brutal Suharto dictatorship in 1998. Through rare personal interviews
with the activists who are leading the rebirth of struggle for democratic rights
in the world's fourth-largest country, Dan La Botz draws valuable lessons
for workers in the United States seeking to build international labor solidarity.
La Botz brings us inside organizations such as the People's Democratic
Party, the new unions battling sweatshops and multinationals like Nike, NGOs,
and student groups attempting to forge links with the working class. These forces,
he argues, offer the best hope for a truly democratic future for Indonesia.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1
Bringing Down Suharto: Three Generations of Activists
Part 1: Indonesia and Globalization
2
Indonesia in the Grip of Global Capital
3
Global Capital and Indonesia: From Imperialism to Independence
4
Global Capital and Indonesia: From Independence to the New Order
Part
2: Resisting Capital
5
The Fight For Freedom: The Role of the NGOs
6 The New Independent Unionism of Reformasi
7 Muchtar
Pakpahan and the SBSI
8
Dita Sari and the FNPBI: Making Unions a Political Force
Part
3: The Alternative to Global Capitalism
9
The People's Democratic Party: A Socialist Alternative
10
Globalization, Indonesia, and International Labor Solidarity
Epilogue
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Excerpt
From Chapter 1—Bringing Down Suharto: Three Generations of Activists
In the midst of the greatest economic crisis in decades,
in May 1998, a popular mass movement drove President Suharto from power and
ended almost 35 years of military dictatorship in Indonesia. Courageous college
students sparked the final conflict, risking, and sometimes losing, their lives
to fight for democracy in the world's fourth largest country. After the students
ignited the protests, Indonesians from many walks of life joined the demonstrations.
In the capital city of Jakarta, crowds as large as 50,000 surrounded government
buildings and filled public places, demanding that Suharto resign. The spreading
movement gained first the assent and then the support of almost everyone but
the military and Suharto's closest cronies. Reformasi-reform-became the word
on every lip, every placard, and soon it seemed on every bumper sticker, billboard,
and building. When Suharto stepped down on May 21, millions rejoiced. Democracy
had triumphed, the dictator had fallen, a bright future lay ahead...
It all seemed to have happened so fast, to have taken
place in an instant. But then, what were we to make of it, those of us living
in other countries and on other continents, whose knowledge of Indonesia was
often limited to a glimpse of a photo of exotic Bali in a travel agent's window?
For many young people in Canada, England, and the United States, I...
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Praise
“This
highly informative and penetrating study of the “fight for freedom”
of Indonesian workers, and the background in which it has developed, could hardly
be more timely or significant. It is an inspiring story of struggle and achievement,
with important lessons for people dedicated to elementary human rights. It is
also a valuable corrective to the propaganda assault that seeks to justify investor-rights
agreements by portraying support for working people as an attack against them.”
—Noam Chomsky
"If you feel outraged by the fact that big foreign firms are still not
bargaining with Indonesia's independent unions, read this book. After you read
it, you'll know who to connect with. Consumer groups and human rights activists
can help these courageous people win justice.”
—Jeff Ballinger, Press
for Change
“Americans,
even progressives, know precious little about the great archipelago of Indonesia,
the fourth-most-populous country in the world and a major producer of goods
for the U.S. market. That's why Dan La Botz's book is a must-read for
those who care about global issues. Introducing us to fascinating labor
activists such as Muchtar Pakpahah and Dita Sari, we see the birth of a new
labor movement that is organizing the workers who make products for U.S. consumers.
Made in Indonesia shows us how we can be conscientious supporters of
...
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;)
