VZCZCXRO2262
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #5580/01 1231139
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 031139Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3630
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 9381
RHMFIUU/USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHHMUNA/USCINCPAC HONOLULU HI
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 7342
RUEKJCS/DOD WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 005580 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/MTS AND DRL/IL 
DEPT ALSO FOR DS/IP/EAP AND DS/DSS/ITA 
DEPT OF LABOR FOR ILAB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB ECON EINV PGOV PHUM KJUS ASEC ID
SUBJECT: UNIONS BESIEGE PARLIAMENT (AGAIN), PROTEST TURNS 
UGLY 
 
REF: A. JAKARTA 5486 - MAY DAY PROTESTS AGAINST REFORMS 
 
     ¶B. JAKARTA 4465 - GROWING WORKER PROTESTS 
     ¶C. JAKARTA 3563 - INVESTMENT CLIMATE PACKAGE 
     ¶D. JAKARTA 1645 - AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES LABOR REFORM 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Tens of thousands of union-led demonstrators 
besieged the gates of the Indonesian Parliament (DPR) on 
March 3 to force Parliament to agree to refuse any amendment 
to the Manpower Act.  The demonstration, with an estimated 
turnout of 50,000, turned tense in the afternoon as labor 
leaders failed to emerge from the Parliament building with 
any agreement.  Police eventually used water cannons, tear 
gas, and anti-unit personnel to disperse the crowd in the 
late afternoon.  There were no immediate reports of serious 
injuries.  President Yudhoyono, scheduled to return to 
Jakarta  from a Middle East tour May 4, issued a statement 
calling for all parties to stand down.  Vice President Jusuf 
Kalla read out a statement condemning the anarchy of today's 
protest and speculating that politically-motivated 
provocateurs had helped to spark the confrontation.  End 
Summary. 
 
Largest Union Body Targets DPR 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Following massive, but peaceful labor 
demonstrations in Jakarta on May 1 (ref a), Indonesia's 
largest labor umbrella group, the All-Indonesia Trade Union 
Confederation (SPSI), took its latest turn on May 3 to 
protest again the Yudhoyono administration's intention to 
revise a fundamental labor law, the 2003 Manpower Act.  The 
revisions, intended to improve the investment climate, would 
introduce greater labor market flexibility, including 
reducing mandatory severance pay to levels in line with 
regional norms and allowing greater flexibility for use of 
contract labor.  SPSI did not take part May 1, in part 
because of May Day's socialist connotations among other 
factors.  SPSI, which generated the large April 5 
demonstrations that caused Yudhoyono to scuttle immediate 
plans to introduce amendments to the Manpower Act, focused 
the May 3 protest on the DPR.  The May 1 protests had 
succeeded in obtaining written commitments to oppose any 
revisions to the Manpower Act from the parliamentary 
committee charged with labor affairs.  SPSI leaders sought a 
more formal commitment from the DPR as a whole. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) SPSI protestors arrived near the DPR in bus and 
truck convoys during the morning hours of May 3.  Local media 
ran accounts of SPSI members "sweeping" factories to force 
workers to participate in the protest.  The SPSI-led 
demonstration grew in size during the morning, reaching, by 
some estimates, 50,000 mid-day.  Crowds and buses stretched 
for kilometers along access roads leading to the Parliament 
complex.  By early afternoon, the front line demonstrators 
attempted unsuccessfully to force their way into the DPR 
complex, damaging the main gates.  At approximately 1300, 
police released tear gas and fired water cannons at the 
crowd. 
 
Forcing DPR's Hand 
------------------ 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Not satisfied with supportive statements from DPR 
members, ten labor representatives entered the the 
legislature to negotiate with senior leaders a formal 
document committing the DPR to refuse any amendments. 
According to a senior union official on the scene, DPR 
leaders would not endorse the document without the agreement 
of DPR chairman Agung Laksono, who remained absent. 
(Comment:  Agung at the time was with the Ambassador on a 
visit to the USS Abraham Lincoln.  End Comment.) 
 
Police Use Tear Gas to Disperse Demonstrators 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) With no word from inside the DPR, demonstrators 
 
JAKARTA 00005580  002 OF 002 
 
 
became restless and advanced again on the main gate.  At that 
point, police fired multiple volleys of tear gas, and 
organized anti-riot personnel with shields to forcibly 
disperse the demonstration.  By 1600 police had split the 
protestors, and the demonstration before the DPR had 
dispersed by 1700.  There were some reports of protestors 
vandalizing public and private property as they moved away 
from the DPR.  Police reportedly arrested a small number of 
demonstrators. 
 
SPSI Leaders - Mission Accomplished 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) By 1800, union leaders finally emerged with a 
document signed by two DPR deputy chairmen, pledging the 
DPR's opposition to the amendments.  SPSI official Hikayat 
Atika Karwa told reporters, "We thank the DPR for agreeing to 
our request.  However, if the government still forces the 
revision (of the law) and the DPR discusses this, we will 
take actions that shake the government, such as a national 
strike." 
 
Yudhoyono Promises to Review Labor System 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (U) President Yudhoyono, speaking to reporters May 3 in 
Jordan, called on all parties to pause, and not continue the 
protests and heated rhetoric over the issue of the labor law. 
 Yudhoyono stated that the government would review the entire 
labor system and its legal framework, looking not only at the 
Manpower Act.  Yudhoyono is to return to Jakarta from Jordan 
on May 4. 
 
Kalla: Political Actors behind the Violence 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who has minded the 
store during Yudhoyono's Middle East tour, read out a 
statement to reporters late in the afternoon May 3.  Kalla 
expressed concern over the anarchy that had taken place at 
the DPR and stated his belief that workers did not desire 
such lawlessness.  He drew a comparison between the peaceful 
protests on May 1 and the violence of May 3, concluding that 
the SPSI demonstration had been infiltrated by 
politically-motivated provocateurs.  (Comment: Senior SPSI 
leaders have links to the opposition Indonesian Democratic 
Party-Struggle of former President Megawati, as well as to 
various factions of the Golkar party, not all supportive of 
Golkar chairman Kalla.  Some senior union leaders have 
focused their ire on Kalla, whom they see as the major 
proponent behind the amendments due in part to his background 
as a businessman.  End Comment.) 
 
Rival Union Leader: SPSI Went Too Far 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) We spoke with the leader of a rival union 
confederation, which had participated in the May 1 rallies. 
He commented that SPSI had gone too far in its actions at the 
DPR with its attempt to force another DPR agreement, beyond 
that already achieved two days before.  This opposing union 
leader endorsed VP Kalla's view, stating that outside actors 
had financed SPSI to mobilize so many demonstrators; SPSI 
itself is cash-strapped and could not have funded so many 
buses. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Organized labor flexed its muscle again in the 
capital.  Whereas the May 1 demonstrations appeared a success 
for organized labor, the coming days will tell if the ugly 
scene that SPSI created at the Parliament will reduce public 
sympathy or political support for the unions' demands. 
Successful mob action to force the hand of the elected 
legislature would be a negative step for Indonesian 
democracy. 
PASCOE