Source: The Indonesian Revolution and the Immediate Tasks of the Communist Party of Indonesia. Foreign Language Press, Peking, 1964.
Dear Comrades!
First of all I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all present at this meeting, to the leading comrades, teachers and students of the Higher Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, who have invited me here to make a report and who are prepared to tear my report today.
The fact that you have invited me to make the report proves that you have a deep interest in, and a warm feeling for, the struggles of the Indonesian people and the Indonesian Communist Party, just as the Indonesian Communists and working people have a deep interest in, and a warm feeling for, the Chinese revolution and the Chinese Communist Party.
It is our unshakable duty to understand each other’s society, revolution and Party. Only by incessantly deepening, our mutual understanding can we constantly reinvigorate our feeling of unity and friendship, and our Marxist-Leninist solidarity.
I would also like to take this opportunity to extend to all of you warm greetings from the Communists and working people of Indonesia.
In this report entitled "The Indonesian Revolution and the Immediate Tasks of the Communist Party of Indonesia" I shall discuss only some of the most important questions.
I. A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE VARIOUS HISTORICAL PERIODS IN THE GROWTH OF INDONESIAN SOCIETY AND OF THE BASIC QUESTIONS OF THE INDONESIAN REVOLUTION
According to the provisional conclusions that have been drawn, and on the viewpoint that the development of a society is not decided by man's subjective thinking but by the development of the mode of production of material values which are indispensable for man's existence, the historical development of Indonesian society can be divided in the main into the following periods:
In order to help you understand present Indonesian society, which is the basis for defining the strategy and tactics of the Indonesian revolution, I need not present a comprehensive discussion of all historical periods in the development of Indonesian society right from the period of primitive communes. We may as well leave that question for the scientists. It seems quite enough for me to pick out the last three periods in the growth of Indonesian society and only discuss the situation in a general way.
a. The Colonial and Semi-Feudal Period (from the end of the 19th century to the 1945 August Revolution).
During this period, Indonesia was completely under the colonial rule of Dutch imperialism, and then, during World War II, under the colonial rule of Japanese fascism: both engaged in brutal political oppression and economic exploitation. All important branches of the economy were controlled by foreign monopoly capital. To the Dutch, Japanese and other imperialists, Indonesia played the role of a colony, pure and simple, i.e., a supplier of raw material and cheap labour, a market for the products of imperialist countries, a field for investment and a source of cannon-fodder for imperialist war. Basically its culture served imperialism and feudalism. Nevertheless, the culture serving the people's struggles was also growing.
The extended export of capital carried capitalism into remote villages. As feudal economic relations were destroyed, the natural economy gradually gave way to an economic system in which commodity production was dominant. Far from being independent, the feudal system owed its existence solely to imperialist support. Feudalism was no longer an integrated whole; only its remnants survived. Such was the condition of semi-feudalism.
During that period, imperialism harmed the interests of all classes, save the landlords and the agents of imperialism. At the beginning of this period Indonesia's national liberation movement sprang up. From then on, in waging their struggle against Dutch colonialism the Indonesian people used various modern organizational forms, such as the "State Railways Union (S.S.Bond), the Union of Railway and Tram Employees (V.S.T.P.), Boedi Oetomo, Islamic Association (Sarekat Islam), the East-Indies Party, (Indische Partij), and the East-Indies Social Democratic Association (I.S.D.V). Coincident with the birth and growth of the national liberation movement, the Indonesian nation was formed and developed. Prior to this, the movement against Dutch colonialist aggression was only a resistance movement of local inhabitants, and had not yet become a national movement.
With the birth of the Indonesian Communist Party on May 23, 1920, which was the result of the integration of Marxist-Leninist theory with the Indonesian working-class movement, the national-liberation movement found its core. The struggle of the Indonesian people for independence grew vigorously day by day and in 1926 the first national uprising broke out under the leadership of the CPI, dealing a blow to Dutch colonialism. After the failure of the uprising the Party was forced to go underground. In the years that followed such nationalist political parties as the Indonesian National Party (1927) came into being. In his book Sarinah President Sukarno wrote:
At that time, Dutch imperialism, had just lashed ferociously at the pure heart of the Communists. Severe blows were inflicted upon the Indonesian Communist Party and the People's Union. Thousands of their leaders were thrown into jails or banished to the Upper Digul. To carry on the revolutionary struggle, I then founded the Indonesian National Party.
Under the inspiration of the revolutionary struggle of the Indonesian people, Sumpah Pemuda (Oath of the Youth) was issued on October 28, 1928, which demonstrated the unanimous resolution of the Indonesian youth of all nationalities and of all political trends that they belong to one nation, using one common language and having one motherland - Indonesia. This event was of great significance in the formation of the Indonesian nation and was a correct answer to the divide-and-rule policy of the Dutch colonialists.
During the Japanese fascist occupation, the Indonesian people carried on their revolutionary struggle, sabotaging enterprises and mobilizing the peasants to stage uprisings (for instance, in Singaparna, Indramaju, Tanah Karo and other places), mobilizing the troops to stage uprisings (as in Blitar), and organizing resistance among the intellectuals, youth, college and other school students. As the people's sufferings increased, their struggle grew in intensity. After Japan's surrender to the Allied powers in World War II, the Indonesian people proclaimed their national independence on August 17, 1945 and founded a republic.
b. The Period of Independence and Semi-Feudalism (1945-49),
With the proclamation of the Republic of Indonesia on August 17, 1945 the Indonesian people seized state power to Indonesia from the hands of the Japanese fascists. With state power in their hands, the Indonesian people adopted a series of anti-imperialist measures, such as the nationalization of important imperialist-owned enterprises, abolition of the colonial government and other organizations, establishment of central and local Indonesian National Councils, and of people's security organs at all levels, and in some areas, the distribution of the land of the imperialists’ plantations among the peasants.
After the afore-mentioned anti-imperialist and democratic measures were adopted to the political and economic fields, the imperialist no longer took direct action against the Indonesian Republic in the areas under its control. Such was the situation of the independence during the period of the August Revolution (1945-48), though our independence was by no means complete or firmly founded. Some parts of our territory were still directly occupied by the Dutch imperialist or under the control of their agent, the puppet governments. During this period, in order to defend the independence and sovereignty of the republic, the Indonesian people continued to fight Dutch imperialism in various fields. Because the feudal landlord class, another main enemy, had virtually received no blows during the revolution, semi-feudal conditions-remained largely unchanged. This is the basic reason why the August Revolution 1945 could not be thoroughly completed.
The aims of the August Revolution of 1945 were achieved owing to the following factors:
1. The adoption of an irresolute anti-imperialist policy and the making of continual compromises as shown in the signing of The Lingardjati and Renville Agreements and later the Round Table Conference Agreement, which was even worse.
2. Failure to work out an anti-feudal policy to resolutely strike blows at the feudal landlords and draw the peasants into the revolution.
3. Lack of a clear policy for a united front with the national bourgeoisie in the bourgeois democratic revolution.
4. Failure, of the working class to take exclusive hold of the leadership in the revolution, though this does not mean that the leadership of the revolution that time was in the hands of the bourgeoisie.
The failure of the August 1945 Revolution show that the Indonesian bourgeoisie was unable to lead the bourgeois democratic revolution in the era of imperialism, or the bourgeois democratic revolution of a new type. It also proved that the Indonesian proletariat at that time was not yet capable of leading the bourgeoisie democratic revolution of a new type to complete victory. During the August Revolution of 1945, the Indonesian proletariat played an important part in the state power including the armed forces and in other fields.
As comrades know, in September 1948 the reactionary Hatta government carried out a policy of White terror against the Indonesian Communist Party. This is widely known as the Madiun Affair. In the struggle against the White terror, many CPI leaders laid down their lives. I have repeatedly said, "The Indonesian Communist Party participated in the August Revolution under circumstances in which it had not summed its experience, in united-front work and still lacked experience in building up the Party and in armed struggle.”
c. The Semi-Colonial and Semi-Feudal period, or the Period of Semi-Feudalism and Incomplete Independence (from 1949 on).
The Programme of the CPI points out:
“The Round Table Conference Agreement concluded between the Hatta government and the Dutch government on November 2, 1949 determined the semi-colonial status of Indonesia. The so-called transfer of sovereignty made on December 27, 1949 in accordance with the above-mentioned agreement aimed at creating the illusion among the Indonesian people that Indonesia had gained complete independence and that “the transfer of sovereignty" was "genuine, complete and unconditional"”.
In actual fact, by concluding the Round Table Conference Agreement, the Hatta government enabled the Dutch imperialists to restore their influence in Indonesia in the economic field. But the national-liberation movement and the democratic movement of the Indonesian people were not to be held in check. Under the pressure of the broad masses, in April 1956, the Indonesian government unilaterally abrogated the unequal and traitorous Round Table Conference Agreement and then unilaterally cancelled its "debts" to the Netherlands. Later, with the further growth of the forces of the masses, the enterprise owned by Dutch monopoly capital were taken over one by one and nationalized in 1957, and in 1963 West Irian returned to the domain of the Indonesian Republic. But this does not mean that these positive anti-imperialist measures have brought about fundamental changes in Indonesian society.
The fact that Indonesia is not yet economically independent most clearly demonstrates that Indonesia has not attained complete independence. The imperialists, first of all the U.S. imperialists, can still make use of Indonesia's raw materials, exploit its mineral resources and utilize its cheap labour power. They have thus held back the development of our national industry, both the state-owned part and that owned by the national bourgeoisie.
Until now only the 1952 report of the White Engineering Corporation has supplied the following statistics of total foreign investments:
Dutch capital (before the take-over) $1,470 million
U.S. capital 350 million
British capital 262.5 million
French and Belgian capital 105 million
Other foreign capital 52,5 million
Sum total $2,240 million
According to a speech of the Dutch Foreign Minister Luns at the United Nations in 1958, Dutch capital taken over by Indonesia amounted to about $1,200 million. Thus, if Lunss figure is correct and if there has been no new investment, total foreign Investments in Indonesia today must amount to $1,040 million, i.e., $2,240 million minus $1,200 million. The actual situation now is that imperialist capital, first of all U.S. capital, has in recent years steadily increased its investments in Indonesia. Since 1945, the United States has increased its investments in oil enterprises as follows: Investments in the Shell Oil Company have increased by $84 million; in Standard Vacuum, by $40 million; in Caltex, by $47 million. Jones, U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia, said in a speech at the American Men's Association that U.S. “economic aid” since 1950 has already reached $639 million. It is estimated that this figure is smaller than the actual one. As you know, foreign investments, such as those in Indonesia, which take the form of "economic aid", are one form of neo-colonialism. The peoples of the Asian, African and Latin American countries are firmly opposed to neo-colonialism.
With the help of the compradors and bureaucrat-capitalists, the imperialists have damaged the state sector of the economy and have succeeded to a certain extent in injecting the needle of neo-colonialism into the Indonesian economy directly through the so-called "programme of economic stabilization" devised on the U.S. pattern, and also through the so-called International Monetary Fund. Thus, to a great extent the Indonesian economy is dependent on the capitalist world economic system. Since Dutch imperialism was driven out from almost every branch of our economy and from West Irian, U.S. imperialism has replaced Dutch imperialism to become the most dangerous, the No. 1 enemy of the Indonesian people.
As the conditions in the Indonesian countryside show, the feudal nature of land relations remains unchanged and the peasants are still living in poverty and dependence on the feudal landlords. This can be proved by the following facts:
First, the landlords have a monopoly of the land tilled by the landless peasants.
Today the fundamental goal of the struggle of the Indonesian Communist Party and the peasants is to abolish the landlords monopoly of land and to realize the slogan "land to the peasants". Investigations submitted by peasant movement cadres in Indonesian rural areas point to the degree of concentration of land follows:
Landlords Poor peasants and hired labourers
population lawn owned population land owned
Karangduren
(Djember) 6% 31% 64% 17%
Leuwigadjah
(Batudjadjar) 12.5% 83.48% 87.5% 16.52%
Secondly, the payment of land rent in kind to the landlords, which amounts to1 50 per cent or more of what a peasant harvests, has impoverished most of the peasants.
In view of this kind of exploitation by the landlords, the revolutionary movement puts forward for the peasants a demand for a better ratio of distribution; this is generally known as the demand of six to four, which means that at least 60 per cent of the produce should go to the peasants who till the land while the land-owners at most should receive 40 per cent.
Thirdly, the system of labour rent practised on landlords’ land, such as the system of corvee and other kinds of forced labour, has reduced the peasants to the status of slaves.
Fourthly, heavy debts are strangling the overwhelming majority of peasants and have placed them in the position of slaves of the landlords and usurers, who lend out money at a monthly interest rate of 10 to 100 per cent, or purchase the upcoming harvest as green shoots in the field at a price equivalent to 25 to 50 per cent of the price at harvest time; etc.
As a result of the peasants revolutionary struggle Combined with the struggle of the revolutionaries in parliament, the Decree on the Harvest Distribution Contract and the Basic Decree on Land have been adopted. Although these two decrees only limit, but do not abolish, feudal exploitation in the countryside, their implementation has been very slow and has encountered serious sabotage. While supporting the implementation of these two decrees, the CPI has explained to the peasants its own land programme.
So present-day Indonesian society is still a semi-colonial, semi-feudal society, or, as we so often put it, a semi-feudal society that has not yet achieved, complete independence. To say that Indonesia "has not yet achieved complete independence" indicates that while on the one hand it is not an entirely dependent country, on the other, its people are still struggling for complete, national independence.
BASIC QUESTIONS OF THE INDONESIAN REVOLUTION
Having understood the character of the society in which the Indonesian people are living, we shall study the basic questions of the Indonesian revolution. To the Communist Party of Indonesia, the process of understanding the Indonesian revolution Is also the process of knowing its basic questions, namely, the targets, tasks, forces, character and perspectives of the revolution. These questions were first put forward in 1954 at the Fifth National Congress of the CPI. Therefore I once said:
With that Congress, the Party, which began to attain maturity following the New Road resolution, became a fully mature Party because it had answered all the important and basic questions of the Indonesian revolution and had a complete understanding of the theory of the Indonesian revolution—the integration of the general truth of Marxism-Leninism with the concrete practice of the Indonesian revolution. (Lessons from the History of the CPI).
The revolutionary forces in Indonesia are composed of all classes and groups suffering front Imperialist and feudal oppression. They are the proletariat (the working class), the peasants, the petty bourgeoisie the national bourgeoisie and other democrats. They must be united in an anti-imperialist and anti-feudal national united front based on the worker-peasant alliance and led by the working class. The moving force of the Indonesian revolution consists of the working class, the peasants, the petty bourgeoisie and other democrats whose interests suffer at the hand of the imperialists and who are firmly opposed to imperialism. They are the progressive forces in Indonesia because they hold firmly to the anti-imperialist, anti-feudal revolution, because they are the working people and can accept socialism. From the viewpoint of importance and size, the basic force of the Indonesian revolution is the peasantry.
When the questions of who are the revolutionary forces, the moving force and the basic force of the Indonesian revolution, and who are the obstacle to the revolution are made clear, we can see that there exist in Indonesian society three forces, namely, the diehards (who are the obstacle to the revolution or the target of the revolution), the middle force and the progressives, each having its own concept regarding the Indonesian revolution. In relation to these three forces, the political line of the CPI is tirelessly to exert all efforts to develop the progressive force, finite with the middle force and isolate the diehard force. In order to change the balance of forces in Indonesian society, it is most important to carry out this political line. Up to now, the implementation of this line is in conformity with our aims, that is, the progressive force has grown stronger, national unity has teen further strengthened and the reactionaries have become increasingly isolated. In the national united front against imperialism and feudalism, the tactic of both uniting with and struggling against the national bourgeoisie is manifested in the practical activities of the cadres and members of the CPI in various spheres of life and in Indonesia's revolutionary struggle.
The character of the Indonesian revolution at the present stage is bourgeois democratic and not proletarian socialist. But the bourgeois democratic revolution in Indonesia is no longer one of the old type, or a part of the out-dated world bourgeois democratic revolution; it is one of a new type and a part of tile world proletarian socialist revolution firmly opposed to imperialism. The Indonesian revolution is bourgeois in nature, because it does not abolish the private ownership of the means of production. This is manifested in the fact that it distributes land to the peasants and encourages the growth of the national bourgeoisie so that it may be free from dependence upon imperialism. It is also democratic in nature; because it is opposed to feudalism and fights for democratic rights for the Indonesian people as a whole.
Since the Indonesian revolution is a new type of bourgeois democratic revolution, it is the historic task of the proletariat to contend for its leadership. On this question, the First Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the CPI pointed out that the existence of a vanguard party is not decided by anyone's subjective desire, nor by government decree. Objectively, the working-class party shoulders the tasks of a vanguard party, but it cannot win this position without paying a price for it. To be the vanguard, the working class and CPI must serve the interests of the people unconditionally, show their boundless loyalty in the struggle for the people's interests, be ready to make sacrifices for and dauntlessly defend the interests of the people. Comrade Mao Tse-tung has said that in order to win the leading position in the revolution the Party must fulfil the following conditions, namely, to put forward “basic political slogans in accordance with historical development”, "set an example" in realizing “these specific aims", “establish/ proper relations with its allies and develop and consolidate this alliance”, and "the Communist Party must expand its ranks, maintain ideological unity and observe strict discipline". (Mao Tse-tung, The Tasks of the Chinese Communist Party in the Period of Resistance to Japan, Foreign Languages Press, Peking, 1960, pp.18,19). Having studied tee above mentioned thesis of Comrade Mao Tse-tung, we are able to say that recently the Indonesian working class and the Indonesian Communist Party have already fulfilled these conditions. Of course, though already fulfilled, these conditions need to be continuously reinforced.
When the character of the Indonesian revolution Is understood, it is clear that its future is socialism and communism, not capitalism. This special feature arises not only from the fact that our present era is one of transition to socialism but also from the fact that a concrete revolutionary struggle is now being unfolded in Indonesia for the victory of the bourgeois democratic revolution of a new type, the people's democratic revolution, or the national-democratic revolution, which is the first stage of the revolution, so as to continue to develop it subsequently Into a socialist revolution, or the second stage of the-Indonesian revolution. The present-day revolutionary movement in Indonesia led by the CPI is an Integrated revolutionary movement; its task, covers two revolutionary stages, the democratic stage in preparation for the socialist stage and the future socialist stage as a continuation of the democratic stage.
For the Indonesian people, there is no other road to take than the socialist road. The capitalist road has been blocked because neither the Indonesian working people nor the imperialists will allow Indonesia to take that road. The Indonesian working people will not allow Indonesia to take the capitalist road because they want to take the socialist road. The imperialists will not allow Indonesia to take the capitalist road because, as far as they are concerned, a semi-colonial or neo-colonial Indonesia is the only one that suite them. The imperialists will not allow the Indonesian capitalists to develop freely because such a development is tantamount to tolerating the birth and growth of a competitor they, do not like. This, being the case, it is only considered fitting for Indonesian capitalists to become compradors of imperialists. To take the semi-colonial, or neo-colonial road means to let present conditions continue but this is also impossible because the whole people, especially the working people, already have a strong desire to change the present situation and this can be achieved only by taking the socialist road.
To take the socialist road, the CPI has set itself the task of establishing, consolidating and intensifying the role of the proletariat as the vanguard in the Indonesian revolution. Only in this way will it be really possible to ensure that the present national-democratic revolution in Indonesia to become a part of the world proletarian socialist revolution, thereby assuring the Indonesian revolution of a socialist and communist future.
Since the future of the Indonesian revolution is socialism and communism, it is clear that Indonesia is one of the new emerging forces, like all other anti-imperialist and anti-colonial newly independent countries, the countries in the socialist camp, and other progressive forces, throughout the worlds. The growth of all of these forces must be supported and assisted. To uphold the banner “Workers and oppressed nations of the world, unite!" put forward by the Communist International and agreed to by Lenin, has now become the practical need of the hew emerging forces in their struggles against the old established forces in the world, that is, imperialism, old and new colonialism, and other reactionary forces.
II. BUILDING THE PARTY SINCE 1951
Regarding the situation existing after the signing of the Round Table Conference Agreement, two views prevailed in the Party. The first insisted that the Party should immediately wage armed struggles against the government of the Indonesian Republic, the product of the Round Table Conference Agreement. The comrades who held this view was one-sided in their appraisal of the situation. They only saw that the Communists had obtained a good name among the people, because they had done their part in the armed struggle against the Dutch imperialists and many Communists had directly led the anti-Dutch armed forces. However, they underestimated the general domestic situation which indicated that the revolutionary tide was ebbing. Many people outside the Party cherished the illusion that the sovereignty of Indonesia would be recognized through the Round Table Conference Agreement, and most of the other political parties supported the agreement. On the other hand, due to the White terror of the Madiun Affair, the. Party was still very weak organizationally. The Party membership was small, and in many areas the Party organizations were paralysed. In addition to all this, some members of the Party's leadership were opposed to carrying out the New Road resolution concerning the merging of the Socialist Party and the Indonesian Workers’ Party into a single Marxist-Leninist party, that is, the Indonesian Communist Party. Moreover, no identity of views had been reached within the Party even, on the basic questions of the Indonesian revolution. The line advocated by this group of comrades, therefore, was obviously an adventurist and subjective line, which, if put into effect, would have isolated the Party from the masses.
The second view was based on an analysis of the situation as a whole. It was necessary for the Party first of all to reorganize its ranks which had suffered much damage to achieve an identity of views and sum up the experience of this period. At the time it was important for the Party to strive for and maintain its legal status in the Indonesian Republic. This was possible because, the Party enjoyed high prestige in the anti-Dutch struggle while Hatta’s influence was diminishing because he had signed the Round Table Conference Agreement. Since the Party's legal status acquired after the Round Table Conference had teen won through armed struggle, it would be a gross error to give it up voluntarily. This second view eventually secured majority in the Party and its correctness was borne out by subsequent political developments.
An important event in the reconstruction of the Party was the plenary session of the Central Committee held at the beginning of 1951 on the insistence of the Leninist wing in the Central Committee. At this meeting the opponents to the New-Road, were defeated and a new political bureau was formed. The Party journals, both Bintang Merah (Red Star) and Mimbar Revolusi (Revolutionary Tribune) published underground, played an important role in preparing for the victory of the Leninist wing. In order to exercise its leadership in accordance with the line of the New Road the new political bureau did arduous work and successfully drawing up a Marxist-Leninist constitution for the CPI. Materials concerning the Party constitutions and experiences in the building of other Communist Parties, the Chinese Communist Party in particular, were of great assistance to us in working out our Party Constitution. Moreover, precisely because it was combined with concrete experiences in the history of the CPI itself, this Constitution was able to play an important role in the reconstruction of the Party. In April 1951, this Party Constitution was ratified by the plenary session of the Central Committee and was instantly put into effect as the guide to the day-to-day activities in building the Party. The discussions concerning the Constitution and the activities in carrying it out greatly promoted the growth of the Party, raised the theoretical level of the members, invigorated inner-Party democracy, fostered criticism and self-criticism, ted strengthened discipline, ideology and unity of the Party.
During the initial stage, the work of building the Party locally was entrusted to Commissariats of the Central Committee, the latter's reliable assistants, which were of one mind and one thought with the Central Committee Each Commissariat was led by a Commissary who was appointed by the Central Committee that, is to say, not elected from below. Such Commissariats were set up for the provinces of West Java, Central Java, East Java, North Sumatra, Central Sumatra, South Sumatra and Sulawesi. This was a correct measure, because in this way the Central Committee could contact the section committees (in the counties and major cities) directly and have first-hand information on the work of the cadres who led these committees. This was necessary since the local Party organisations were still in a state of confusion and were labouring under the troubles created by the Right and "Left” opportunists.
The experience of the CPI in the period of rebuilding the Party can be summarized as follows: in conditions where the Party is in a state of organizational, political and ideological confusion, it is first necessary to work for firm solidarity and ideological unity in the central leading body (the Central Committee). Then steps must be taken, from the upper level downwards, to re-establish Party organizations at the lower levels. Inner-Party democracy is to be further promoted only when the committees of the lower Party organizations have taken root and begin to develop.
In the course of establishing a mass party throughout the country, the CPI encountered all sorts of special problems arising from the, actual situation of our state and our nation. In the first place, Indonesia is an archipelago made up of thousands of islands on which the Party had to establish its organizations and committees. The solution to this problem lay not only in drawing the people who lived on these islands into the Party but also in the solution of the problems of communications, transport and liaison. Continual, though slow, inter-communication has been maintained thanks to the perseverance of our Party cadres, but this problem Is still serious. In these circumstances the great significance of the ideological unity of the whole Party becomes all the more obvious. Only through such unity is it possible for all the regional committees and their leading cadres to hold firmly to the general line and Programme of the Party while working independently and with full initiative. Herein lies the special significance of our wanting to build a Party on a nationwide scale, which may not be so urgent a question for continental countries. The next problem was that of the nationalities and the citizens of foreign descent in Indonesia. As mentioned above the Indonesian nation is made up of many nationalities with different languages, customs and levels of social development, as well as of citizens of foreign descent, such as citizens of European, Arab and Chinese ancestry. The fundamental problem in striking root among the nationalities is the peasant problem. The Party’s cadres have carried out their work and established the Party organization in strict accordance with the CPI’s land programme. One important factor in the development of the Party among all nationalities is the Party's policy of striving for complete equality of rights for the nationalities. Because of this policy, the Party has begun to take root among all nationalities and a healthy competition has developed, within the Party in promoting those things in each nationality which are good and beneficial to the working people, so as to achieve full unity in the anti-imperialist struggle for complete national independence. While pursuing this policy the CPI has also, launched a struggle against big-nation chauvinism and parochial nationalism, both of which have their origins in bourgeois ideology.
Regarding citizens of foreign descent, the CPI has demanded the carrying out of the policy of equal rights for “natives” and citizens of foreign descent and opposed all forms of racial discrimination. Owing to the recent racialistic counter-revolutionary incidents in May 1963 which mainly involved the destruction of Chinese property, the CPI has laid down its policy towards citizens of foreign descent in even more concrete terms. This policy is called the policy of revolutionary merger. That is to say, the CPI strengthens its work among citizens of foreign descent, organizing them into the CPI or the revolutionary mass bodies, so that they will take an active part in the revolutionary struggle. This policy is of great significance both in eradicating surviving influences of racialism in the ranks of the proletariat itself and in destroying manifestations of exclusivism among citizens of foreign descent. This policy has also shown citizens of foreign descent the way out, and more and more of them have realized that, in dealing with racialism and chauvinism on the part of the "natives", they cannot adopt an attitude of "keeping aloof from politics" and that they must adopt an attitude of taking an active part in revolutionary political activities. The policy of revolutionary merger is also of great value in defeating the policy of “assimilation", which in fact means to force citizens of foreign descent to change their names, customs and cultural traditions. The policy of revolutionary merger is, in essence, a policy which strengthens the trend of the Indonesian, nation towards socialism, in contrast with the bourgeois policy of "assimilation", which, in fact, develops the trend towards capitalism.
Since 1952 the CPI has carried out several large-scale campaigns to recruit new members, and has never in fact failed to accompany each with a simultaneous movement to educate the Party members. In particular, new members have to study the Programme and Constitution of the Party while old members have to study Party documents and Marxist-Leninist theoretical works systematically. For example the movement of 1951 and 1952 in which leading cadres of the Party studied Lenin's Left Wing Communism, am Infantile Disorder played a decisive role in ridding the Party of the evil of sectarianism, The movement to study Comrade Liu Shao-chi's On the Mass Line was of great help to the cadres of the CPI in building a Party rooted in the masses. Similarly, the sub-sequent campaigns to study Comrade Mao Tse-tung’s On Practice, On Contradiction and On the Correct Handling of Contradiction Among the People were of the greatest significance to the CPI in learning to summarize its own experience and in resolving contradictions within the Party. There are many more similar examples.
With the inauguration of the First Three-Year Plan for Organizational and Educational Work on August 17, 1956, a new, unified system of Marxist-Leninist education was introduced in Party schools at all levels. All kinds of Party schools and training groups were run from the central down to the primary organizations. Their educational content was closely linked to the tasks of the Party in a given period. Thus, through education within the Party it was possible to equip the members ideologically, remove ideological obstacles, and facilitate the successful fulfilment of all the Party's tasks.
During the First Three-Year Plan four courses were taught at Party schools and in training groups at all levels. They were the History of the Development of Society, Basic Problems of the Indonesian Revolution, Questions of the National United Front and Questions of Building the Party. In the Central Party School an additional course was taught: Dialectical and Historical Materialism.
The Second Three-Year Plan was called the Plan for Educational and Organizational Work, and during the period of this plan educational work was further strengthened. The CPI stressed that while it was important to build the Party organizationally, it was still more important to build the Party ideologically. In all Party schools, the course on dialectical and historical materialism was added to the curriculum. This was to meet the objective need which was to arm all Communists so that they could resist the reactionaries frontal attack in the ideological field. Naturally, the contents of this course varied according to the degree, of understanding of the students of the Party schools at different levels. For instance, in the political schools run by the section Party committees for cadres of the branch committees this course was limited to the general concepts of the principle of materialism, dialectics and historical materialism. Among these, stress was laid on the class nature of philosophy, so that the students could always draw a demarcation line between the enemy and ourselves, and when brought face to face with any political problems or questions concerning the revolution they could always take a firm working-class stand. In addition to this, principles of materialism embodied in the necessity to proceed from the facts were taught in order to combat idealism in action and subjectivism in revolutionary work. As to the basic concept of dialectics, students were helped mainly to grasp the significance of considering all things in their movement and the principle of contradiction. The importance of revolutionary practice to the development of revolutionary theory was also explained.
In addition to dialectical and historical materialism another important course was added to the curriculum to Party schools at all levels: the International Workers’ Movement" The primary aim in starting this course was to strengthen education in patriotism and proletarian internationalism so as to combat national nihilism and chauvinism. Such education is most important particularly so, in view of the fact that the working class is inevitably subject to bourgeois ideological influence when it co-operates with the national bourgeoisie in the struggle for complete national independence. If the working class lacked vigilance ideologically, it would easily bog down in the quagmire of narrow bourgeois nationalism or chauvinism. The working class must face up to this danger by undertaking an education in genuine patriotism, progressive patriotism, and proletarian patriotism which is based on love for the working people and the oppressed. This kind of patriotism is naturally integrated with a high degree of proletarian internationalism.
The proletarian internationalism of the Indonesian Communists has been tested many times by domestic and foreign events. One of these was the Hungarian counterrevolutionary revolt (in 1956) and the question of Soviet aid to the Hungarian Workers' and Peasants' Government for its suppression. The Indonesian Communists fully and unhesitatingly supported the actions of the Soviet Union. Another test was the carrying out of the Presidential Decree No. 10 in 1959 which was intended to strike at small traders of Chinese descent and at friendship between the Republic of Indonesia and the People's Republic of China. The recent outbreak of racialistic counter-revolutionary disturbances was for a similar purpose We may say that the CPl has stood this test. The Indonesian Communists have resolutely combated racialism and defended the friendship between the Republic of Indonesia and the People's Republic of China. Taking this attitude has not done the CPI any harm; it has actually had the opposite effect: in taking this attitude the Party has been able to call on the whole nation to deliver a blow against racialistic counterrevolutionary disturbances, and so speed up the building of the Party.
The experience of the CPI in carrying on systematic Marxist-Leninist education demonstrates that it is most important at the beginning to put the emphasis on educating the cadres at the central level (in the Central Committee and the regional committees) as they constitute the backbone pt the whole Party organization. When this has been done this education will spread down to the lower levels. In the "final-spurt movement” of the Second Three-Year Plan, stress was laid on the establishment of political schools and people's training courses run by the primary Party committees.
During the First Three-Year Plan period we trained a great number of cadres and activists: 301,984 of them — over 30 times the number of full and candidate Party members in 1951.
In carrying put our educational plan, we also, held seminars on political and organizational questions, and conferences on theoretical work, and we initiated various kinds of rectification movements, to overcome mistaken ideas and tendencies that might emerge at any stage of the struggle. We aim organized the reading of revolutionary novels and other materials.
By carrying out the plans for building the Party—and in particular by its work in the educational field — the Party has achieved its greatest success since 1951, namely, the Marxist-Leninist ideological unity among the Indonesian Communists. Unity has been achieved not only on the basic questions of the Indonesian revolution, but on all polities and measures pursued by the Central Committee, either policies on domestic questions or on questions of the international communist movement. Of course as the situation is still in the process of developing and struggles are still going on, new questions are bound to arise after old ones are solved. It is therefore impermissible for us to think that our correct ideology will keep on being correct as a matter of course. Correct Ideas must be consciously safeguarded and maintained through constant ideological education.
WORKING IN A PLANNED WAY
One of the most important experiences in building the CPI is to work In a planned way. Since 1951, working according to a plan has become the general method of work in the Party.
Some comrades had argued whether it was necessary to build the Party in a planned way. They had asked if it was possible to have a plan for revolutionary activities. Practical experience in building the CPI has fully demonstrated that working according to a plan and planning revolutionary activities is not only desirable and possible but necessary. From the theoretical point of view the method of working according to a plan is completely correct and in keeping with Marxism-Leninism. The working class studies Marxism-Leninism in order to change the world. That means that it must know the laws of development of society t the social forces for progress and those against it. It must know how to organize the progressive social forces so as to defeat the reactionary ones. In particular it must know itself and know the laws of its own development and of the development of its own organization. To work according to a plan means to map out consciously the process of the Party in the ideological, political and organizational fields on the basis of an understanding of these laws. Both successful and unsuccessful experiences help the working class to understand these laws better and more deeply.
Another advantage of this working method is that it trains cadres to carry on many-sided activities at the same time, to integrate the work of different departments, to combine a dynamic drive with quiet hard work, and to know at every moment which task is the most important.
In his work What Is to Be Done? Lenin sharply criticized the trend of "bowing to spontaneity" (Lenin, Collected Works, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow, 1961, Vol.5 p. 391). in the working-class movement. People who followed this trend held that "tactics-as-plan contradicts the essence of Marxism"(Ibid.,p.392). Lenin pointed out that "a fierce struggle against spontaneity was necessary". (Ibid.,p.385). He stressed:.
Unless we are able to devise political tactics and an organizational plan for work over a very long period, while ensuring, in the very process of this work, our Party's readiness to be at its post and fulfil its duty in every contingency whenever the march of events is accelerated — unless we succeed in doing this, we shall prove to be but miserable political adventurers. (Ibid., footnote on p.514)
He stated further:
We must always conduct our everyday work and always be prepared for every situation, because very frequently it is almost impossible to foresee when a period of outbreak will give way to a period of calm. (Ibid., p.514)
Working in a planned way and striving to realize the plan is a struggle against spontaneity. The plan ensures that we "always conduct our everyday work” so that Party activity will not be stopped for any reason. The plan plays the part of mobilization orders. When the counter-revolutionary rebellion by the PRRI-Permesta clique ("Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia-Charter of Total Struggle”) occurred in some areas in 1958, many Communists were arrested and murdered, and Party organizations suffered grave damages, but the CPI was not paralysed because of them. It waged resolute struggles against the rebels and continued to build the Party according to plan.
Indeed there is a tendency we should oppose, that is, an attempt to separate the fulfilment of the planned target from revolutionary struggle. Such a tendency shows ignorance of the fact that we work for the revolution in a planned way! If one seeks the fulfilment of the planned target only for form's sake, this becomes bureaucracy. Conversely if one thinks that the chalking out of a planned target will impede the growth of revolutionary work, this is bowing to spontaneity. Experience has proved that in areas where such mistaken attitudes are combated and corrected, the Party can grow tremendously and speedily, and at the same time become consolidated.
On August 17, 1963, the entire Party began to implement its grand third plan, the Four-Year Plan for Cultural, Ideological and Organizational Work. Like our previous plans, this is also a revolutionary plan. Therefore, if the targets set under the plan are fulfilled, this will exercise an extremely important, influence on the progress of the Indonesian revolutionary movement. Many urgent tasks in Party building, are listed in the plan.
In carrying out the tasks of cultural work set by this plan, the CPI will launch large-scale movements to raise the cultural level of the working people, first of all the Communists. This includes the wiping out of illiteracy, the development of general education ranging from primary to middle-school education, education in the arts and other specialized knowledge and even the establishment of all sorts of institutes of higher learning.
The more the Party develops, the greater the varieties of work Party cadres have to undertake. In order to enable cadres to fulfil the new tasks, it is necessary to raise their cultural level in a planned way. Moreover, they frequently have to solve problems that need certain special knowledge. The present stage of struggle therefore demands that right now we train Communist cadres with both general and specialized knowledge, that is, to train cadres to become "both Communists and experts". This is one of the main objectives of the Four-Year Plan.
In carrying out the tasks of ideological work in the Four-Year Plan, the Indonesian Communists take as their task the intensification of the work which they performed during the periods of the First and Second Three-Year Plans. In this respect, they shall pay special attention to graining teachers for Party schools and theoretical workers.
During the period of the Second Three-Year Plan, the CPI established the Central Party School equivalent to college level with a study period of three years. This is to meet the needs of the Party for theoretical workers. The Party's practical experience in revolution has Been enriched and is developing very rapidly, but the work of summing up these experiences theoretically still lags behind. One obstacle which has yet to be overcome is that only a limited number of Marxist-Leninist classics have been translated into Indonesian. Therefore one of the ways of rapidly strengthening our theoretical education is to hasten the translation and publication of these classics.
In the field of ideological education, the teaching of philosophy must also be intensified and deepened. In Indonesia's present political situation, the enemies of communism are unable openly to launch political attacks on the CPI, since many of the Party's political viewpoints have already been incorporated in state documents. For this reason, they have stepped, up their attacks on the ideological front. Unless the proletariat masters dialectical materialism, the danger of bourgeois ideology infiltrating into the ranks of the proletariat will increase.
It is also an urgent task in the Four-Year Plan to carry on Marxist-Leninist ideological education among artists and writers. The Party now exercises a widespread influence among artists and writers, but it has carried out insufficient Marxist-Leninist education among them. As a result, their creative work still lags behind the political progress of the Party.
As revolutionary concepts spread widely in Indonesian society, more and more progressives want to study Marxism. The Four-Year Plan stipulates for the organization of forces to help them. Then, not only Party members, but non-Party progressives will study Marxism with the assistance of the Party. It is necessary to undergo this process, so that Marxism becomes gradually an acquisition not only of the Indonesian Communists, but of the whole populace as well.
As the organizational tasks, the Four-Year Plan sets the target of multiplying the number of Party members and members of mass organizations.
Work among the masses, especially among the peasants, will also be carried on and strengthened continually. Essentially our revolution is an agrarian revolution. Though the Party has made tremendous progress in its work among the peasants, its achievements are still far from being sufficient. The Party must strengthen the work of investigation and study in the rural areas and accelerate the training of peasant cadres. In recruiting new Party members special emphasis must be put on recruiting peasants.
Correct methods of leadership are an important factor for progress in organizational work, The Sixth National Congress of the CPI emphasized this point and the Seventh National Congress stressed it once again. More concrete discussions on the question of methods of leadership were held at the First Plenary Session of the Party's Central Committee, convened in February 1963. This concerns the question of linking the general directives with specific guidance, of linking the leadership with the rank and file. The plenary session emphatically pointed out that methods of leadership must be combined with a correct style of work, that is, the style of linking theory with practice, keeping close contact with the masses and conducting self-criticism. During the Four-Year Plan these methods of leadership must be resolutely applied not only within the Party but also in the mass organizations.
To put it briefly these are the urgent tasks facing the Indonesia Communists in building the Party. They are arduous tasks whose accomplishment calls for great perseverance and courage. Fulfilment of these tasks mil enable the CPI to develop further on a wider scale and be further consolidated; it will make our Party cadres capable, courageous and cultured. To complete these tasks, the CPI calls on its cadres firmly to carry out the following: to work well, study well and maintain a high moral standard. When this Four-Year Plan is completed, the CPI will be able to take great and important steps to complete the Indonesian revolution.
Ill. THE PROGRAMME OF THE CPI, THE POLITICAL MANIFESTO, AND THE TACTICS OF THE CPI
For those who want to understand the present revolutionary struggle of the Indonesian people, it is most important to know the common points and differences between the Programme of the CPI and the Political Manifesto of the Republic of Indonesia. On the one hand, the CPI has its own programme, a comprehensive programme which was formulated at the Fifth National Congress of the Party in 1954 and amended and Supplemented at the Sixth National Congress in 1959 and the Seventh National Congress in 1982. On the other hand, the Indonesian Communists have the Political Manifesto, namely, President Sukarno's speech delivered on August 17,1959, and the details for its concrete implementation, which have become the common programme of the Indonesian people and have been approved by the Provisional People's, Consultative Conference as the Outline of State Policy of the Indonesian Republic.
The resolute struggle waged by the Indonesian people under the leadership of the CPI has successfully convinced the broad masses of the correctness of the Programme of the CPI. The Political Manifesto is a product tempered in the crucible of the Indonesian people's straggles against imperialism and feudalism. The Programme of the CPI is an anti-imperialist, anti-feudal programme, so naturally there is a very close link between it and the Political Manifesto; moreover, the struggle of the Indonesian people waged under the leadership of the CPI has clarified the contents of the Political Manifesto and ensures its scientific interpretation and resolute implementation.
Both the Programme of the CPI and the Political Manifesto which has become the common programme of the Indonesian people point out that there are two stages in the Indonesia revolution, namely, the national-democratic stage and the socialist stage. This constitutes the common starting point of the general strategy of the Indonesian revolution. Though the Programme of the CPl and the Political Manifesto have different formulations about the basic questions of the Indonesian revolution at the present stage such as the targets, tasks, forces, character and perspectives of the revolution, actually they have their common points.
From the two afore-mentioned facts, we can draw the conclusion that resolute implementation of the Political Manifesto is tantamount to implementing the Programme of the CPL The Indonesian Communists, therefore, must resolutely carry out the Political Manifesto and set an example in doing so.
Of course, certain differences exist between the Programme of the CPI and the Political Manifesto. The Programme of the CPI is the programme of the working class for the completion of the Indonesian revolution, while the Political Manifesto is the common programme of all the Indonesian people for the completion of the Indonesian revolution (a programme for co-operation with other classes). From this it can be seen deafly that the most important difference lies in the question of the leadership of the revolution. The Programme of the CPI clearly points out that to achieve the aims of the Indonesian revolution the leadership must be in the hands of the working class. It is impossible to expect that the question, of working-class leadership should be included in the Political Manifesto. The Political Manifesto only points out that the workers and the peasants are the pillars of the revolution and it says nothing about which clam shoulders the historic task of leading the revolution.
In its programmatic statement, the Programme of the CPI is clearly divided into a general programme and a programme of specific demands; while making a dear distinction between the two, it also shows their mutual relation. The general programme is the strategic programme and the line while the programme of specific demands is the executive guide for carrying out the general programme or, in other words, it paves the way for the implementation of the general programme. The demand for the formation of a Gotong Royong (An expression signifying all forces working together in unity) cabinet with NASAKOM (NASAKOM expresses the unity between the three main political trends In Indonesian society: NAS, Nationalists; A, religious groups; KOM, Communists) as its fulcrum is a tactical demand which facilitates the subsequent realization of the strategic demand: a people's government or a people's democratic government. Should the Political Manifesto be carried out by those who do not understand the differences and mutual relations between the two, confusion will result. By adhering firmly to its Programme, the CPI can continue to give a correct interpretation of the Political Manifesto and lead the people resolutely to carry out the Political Manifesto.
In the hands of the CPI and the, people, the Political Manifesto is a weapon for uniting the Indonesian people in the struggle for complete national independence and democracy and against imperialism, feudalism, the bureaucrat-capitalists and compradors.
THE TRIPLE BANNER OF THE PARTY AND THE TRIPLE BANNER OF THE NATION
Slogans play an important role in the struggle to carry out the Party's policies. In 1956 the Fourth Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the CPI put forward the Strategic slogan of “Unite for the realization of the demands of the August 1945 Revolution!” This slogan has played a very important role in widely disseminating the correct understanding of the basic questions of the Indonesian revolution, that is, the bourgeois democratic revolution of a new type. In addition, the Fifth Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the CPI held in 1957 put forward the tactical slogan of "Change the balance of forces to realize President Sukarno’s concept 100 per cent!”, and this has played a significant role in uniting the revolutionary forces for the fulfilment of the demand for a national coalition government or a Gotong Royong cabinet with NASAKOM as its fulcrum.
In order to guide the development of toe political situation, the CPI follows the general line: Continue to build the national united front and continue to build the Party so as to fulfil thoroughly the demands of the August 1945 Revolution. On the basis of their general line, the CPI holds aloft the Triple Banner of the Party: 1) the banner of national united front; 2) the banner of Party building; and 3) the banner of the August 1945 Revolution.
To Indonesian Communists, holding aloft the banner of the national united front at the present time means strengthening its work among the peasants, improving its work In the National Front organizations and enhancing the unity of NASAKOM, namely, the unity of the nationalists, the religious circles and the Communists on the basis of the Political. Manifesto, their common programme. Without a vigorous and thoroughgoing anti-feudal peasant movement, a broad, firm national united front against imperialism cannot be established, nor can there be a mighty National Front organization or powerful NASAKOM co-operation.
To hold high the banner of Party building means to carry on and to improve the work of building a Party of a nationwide scope, fully consolidated ideologically, politically and organizationally. The CPI can accomplish its historic task only if it has a large number of cadres with skill and ability, and communist character and spirit . Because cadres, the most politically conscious executors Party’s political and organizational lines, have a decisive effect on the Party's achievements.
Our experience in building the Party shows that to work in a planned way is not only possible and desirable, but necessary. To work according to plan means consciously to plan the Party’s development in the ideological,
political and organizational fields on the basis of an understanding of the law of the development of society, the laws of the development of one’s own organization and of oneself.
To hold high the banner of the August 1945 Revolution means to rally as many of the Indonesian people around us as possible and to strive for the thorough realization of the demands of the August Revolution, that is, the elimination of the existing, forces of imperialism and feudalism in Indonesia. The banner of the August Revolution affirms the important of utilizing the experience of the struggle during the period of the August 1945 Revolution. The experience of that revolution teaches us that guerrilla warfare was of extreme importance in the defence of Indonesia's sovereignty. The guerrilla war at that time would have been more successful and would have led to victory, had we adopted the method of combining to three forms of struggle, that is, guerrilla fighting (mainly by the peasants) in the rural areas, revolutionary struggles by the workers (mainly communications and transport workers) in the cities, and effective and more intensified work among the enemy’s armed forces.
To hold high the banner of the August 1945 Revolution also, means to carry out three forms of activities, that is, to work well among the peasants in the rural areas, among the workers (mainly communications and transport workers) in the cities, and to forge dose ties between the armed forces and the people so that these armed sons of the workers and peasants will not be used by the reactionaries against the people.
In order to mobilize the strength of the entire nation, the CPI raises high the Triple Banner of the Nation—Democracy, Unity and Mobilization — which was raised for the first time at the Party’s Seventh National Congress. At the beginning, the slogan of the Triple Banner of the Nation to put forward for the purpose of firmly opposing the state of emergency, which severely suppressed democratic life, of consolidating the national united front with NASAKOM as its fulcrum and of mobilizing the masses to literate West Irian, and overcome the crisis in clothing and food supplies. Under the Triple Banner of the Nation, the CPI shouts the slogan “Struggle with a rifle in one hand and a spade in the other!"
To hold high the Triple -Banner of the Nation means to help the Party fulfil part of its tasks and to bring the Party closer to the complete fulfilment of its general task.
When the relationship between the Triple Banner of the Party and the. Triple Banner of the Nation, that is, the relationship between the strategic and the tactical slogan, is made clear, the tasks to be accomplished under each of the banners will become obvious too.
Today, while holding high the Triple Banner of the Party and the Triple Banner of the Nation, the Indonesian Communists call on the masses of the people to carry out the three most pressing tasks of the nation: 1) to consolidate the victories that have already been achieved; 2) to overcome the economic difficulties; and 3) to oppose neo-colonialism. Hence we usually say: unfurl the two Triple Banners for the implementation of the three tasks.
These three tasks have also become the programme for action of the national united front organization and have been included in the five-point programme of the National Front.
STATE POWER IN INDONESIA TODAY
Each society has a basis and its corresponding superstructure. The basis of a society is its economic structure or production relations, white its superstructure consists of all the institutions, politics, law, philosophy, etc. of the society. State is the most important element of the superstructure.
The economic structure (basis) of the Indonesian society today is still colonial and feudal in character. But there also exists a struggle of the people to resist this economic system and to establish a national and democratic economy. Hence the existence of two kinds of forces: the forces of the colonial and semi-feudal system arid the forces which are fighting for the establishment of a national and democratic economy.
These realities pertaining to the basis also find their reflection in the superstructure, including state power and chiefly the cabinet. In the state power, a policy against imperialism, feudalism, bureaucrat-capitalists and compradors is reflected alongside the policy which defends imperialism, vestiges of feudalism, bureaucrat-capitalists and compradors. A sharp conflict exists between the two policies in the state power of the Republic of Indonesia.
What is meant by an anti-imperialist and anti-feudal policy is the policy of the government which represents the Interests of the people, such as the abrogation of the Round Table Conference Agreement, the liberation of West Irian, the adoption of the Decree on the Harvest Distribution Contract and the Land Reform Law, the suppression of the DI-TII and PRRI-Permesta gangs, the adoption of the Political Manifesto and the Economic Declaration, and the struggle against "Malaysia”.
And what is meant by the policy which defends imperialism and feudalism is the government policy of defending the Investment of foreign capital, inviting the U.S. "Peace Corps", accepting the U.S. "program for economic stabilization", banning strikes, and attaching the peasant movement.
V. I. Lenin taught us, "The state is a machine for maintaining the rule of one class over another.” (Lenin, The State, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow, 1954). In another work, Lenin stated that "the stated is a special organization of force; it is an organization of violence for the suppression of some class". (Lenin, “The State and Revolution” Selected Works, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow, 1951, Vol. 2/Part 1, p. 222). The present day state power in the Republic of Indonesia, like any other state power, is also a machine in the hands of the ruling class to suppress other classes.
From the point of view of contradiction, the state power of the Republic of Indonesia is a contradiction between two opposing aspects: The first aspect is that which represents the interest of the people. The second aspect is that which represents the interests of the people's enemies. The first aspect is embodied in the progressive attitude and policy of President Sukarno which enjoys the support of the CPI and other sections of the people. The second, aspect is embodied in the attitude and policy of the rightists and the diehards; they are the old established forces.
Today the popular aspect has become the main aspect and plays a leading role in the state power of the Republic of Indonesia, meaning that it guides the course of the political development in the state power of the Republic of Indonesia. It goes without saying that the popular aspect has experienced its own process of development. After the formation of the Wilopo Cabinet in 1952, when two policies emerged for the first time in the cabinet of the Republic of Indonesia, that is to say, the revolutionary and the reactionary policy, the first seeds of the popular aspect were sown, besides the anti-popular aspect. Today both aspects have experienced their own processes of development. The popular aspect which at first was not the main aspect has now developed into the main aspect, as seen from the increasingly anti-imperialist policy of the Republics! Indonesia and from the adoption of the Political Manifesto of the Republic to be the Outline of State Policy and the common programme of the Indonesian people. On the other hand, the anti-popular aspect has ceased to be the main aspect and no longer 'guides the course of development in the contradiction. However, it is still the dominant aspect as was demonstrated lately by the desperation to sabotage the Economic Declaration and to issue economic regulations on May 28, 1983 as a form of "economic stabilization" á la USA.
But in any case the state in the Republic of Indonesia as a whole, is now led by the forces which represent the interests of the people, or in other words it is led by the popular aspect.
IV. THE CPI AND THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNIST MOVEMENT
If we talk about the international communist movement, it is for no other purpose than strengthening the unity of the movement on the basis of Marxism-Leninism.
As you know, in the final analysis the essence of the differences of opinion, in the international communist movement today revolves around the question of the strategy and tactics of the international communist movement in the world socialist revolution. I have previously pointed out that the differences of views in the international communist movement stem from the question of which way will enable us to bury imperialism most quickly. No Communist is unwilling to bury imperialism and no Communist is willing to prolong the existence of imperialism. The question is which is the best way to bury imperialism. But wrong methods would prolong the existence of imperialism, and that would be to its advantage. If one defends with unsparing efforts what is obviously wrong and what has been proved more and more clearly to be advantageous to imperialism, then it is a different matter, a matter no longer within the scope of flow to bury imperialism.
It is quite natural that there are differences of opinion in the international communist movement which includes more than ninety Marxist-Leninist parties led by thousands of Central Committee members. This is particularly so since many comrades like to exaggerate the differences rather than give priority to the identity of views. They do not put principal questions first and cannot restrain themselves when another Communist Party holds different views on questions which are not basic or on basic questions, but the settlement of which can be postponed. The imperialists and revisionists, of course, utilize this situation to aggravate these differences and for the time being they have succeeded in causing a rift in the international communist movement. Why is it that the imperialists and revisionists are the root cause of the rift to the international communist movement? Because the international communist movement is the main obstacle to the imperialists. They concentrate all their energy on smashing the international communist movement. Apart from their usual tactics (violence and intrigue), they use the revisionists, in particular the Yugoslav modern revisionists.
As you know, the attacks launched by the imperialists and revisionists against the international communist movement have a historical background, which dates back to the time when Marxism established superiority over other doctrines. V.I. Lenin rightly said:
The progress of Marxism, the fact that its ideas are spreading and taking firm hold among the working class, inevitably increase the frequency and intensity of these bourgeois attacks on Marxism, which becomes stronger, more gardened and more vigorous every time it is “annihilated” by official science. (Lenin, "Marxism and Revisionism", Collected Works, F.L.P.H., Moscow, 1963, Vol. 15, p. 81.)
Today, when the international communist movement has become the most influential political force of our times and the decisive factor in the development of Society, the imperialists and revisionists and directing their spearhead against it.
Past experience proves that enduring unity must have solid foundations — foundations that cannot be affected by changes in circumstances and that never becomes rusty with time. The Communist Manifesto is a vivid example for us. Particularly for the, international communist movement today, the theory of Marxism-Leninism, the Declaration of 1957 and the Statement of 1960 are, as the CPI has often pointed out, the foundations on which the present international communist movement rests. That is to say, the international communist movement must eliminate the poison of revisionism and hold firm to the kernel of Marxism-Leninism, which means devotion to revolution and opposition to imperialism in all fields. At the same time, we must continuously oppose dogmatism, both classical and modern, because dogmatism, too, impedes the advance of revolution. Our experience in Indonesia shows that when serious differences arise in the international communist movement and are not correctly dealt with, they can become a great obstacle to the consolidation of the national united front, because our allies In the anti-imperialist struggle will not feel secure to rely on the Communist Party. At the same time, they can also be a great hindrance to the work of promoting the friendship between the Indonesian Republic and the countries in the socialist camp. The imperialists and domestic reactionaries try in ,every way to instil disbelief in the socialist camp in the minds of the working people and to demoralize some of them.
If, on the contrary, a correct attitude is adopted, the differences of opinion and the polemics in the international communist movement will strengthen the ranks of the Communists. In a comparatively short time, the CPI has grown and become more consolidated ideologically, organizationally and politically. The cadres of the CPI are stimulated, and they now take a more deeply critical attitude when studying and drawing upon the experience of the international communist movement. Events, are spurring them on to make an ever deeper study of Marxist-Leninist theory. It is the policy of the CPI to put all the available material on the international communist movement within the reach of all, in order that they can use the approach of the CPI to the questions of the international communist movement to study and discuss this material in a critical spirit.
You comrades are already quite familiar with the attitude of the CPI towards the current problems in the international communist movement. The CPI was one of the first Marxist-Leninist parties to propose that talks be held between the Soviet and Chinese Parties, We are therefore glad that talks between the Soviet and Chinese Parties were held in July, and that they were not terminated but will be resumed in the future. Since we are aware of the seriousness of the questions at issue and their essence, we do not hope for more than this.
Experience up to now proves that the independent attitude adopted by the CPI towards the problems in the international communist movement is an attitude which can strengthen its inner-Party unity. To be independent is not to be neutral, but to hold firm to Marxism-Leninism and to play an active role in eliminating the rift in the international communist movement. By holding aloft the banner of independence of a Marxist-Leninist party, which embodies, the principle of equality and independence guiding relations among the Communist Parties of the world, we are able to safeguard and strengthen unity within the Party on the basis of Marxism-Leninism, however serious the contradictions within the international communist movement may be.
The adoption of an independent attitude has taught the cadres of the CPI to take a critical attitude in their approach to various problems and has kept the Party free from dogmatism, thereby greatly stimulating the Party's efforts to "Indonesianize” Marxism-Leninism, in other words, fully to integrate the universal truth of Marxism-Leninism with the actual practice of the revolution in Indonesia. The CPI consistently safeguards its close friendship with other fraternal Parties and refrains from interfering in their internal affairs. That is to say, in its day-to-day activities the Party consistently urges its members constantly to learn from other fraternal Parties; at the same time, it expects that other Parties will not interfere in its internal affairs. This is entirely in accord with the principle guiding relations among Marxist-Leninist parties set forth in the Statement of 1960. It is clear to all that we can benefit from both the positive, and the negative experience of other fraternal Parties. We can even learn from a bad teacher, that is to say, we can learn how not to become like such teacher.
The CPI adopts an attitude of resolutely combating imperialism, with the slogan "We love peace, but we love independence still more.” That is to say, above all else, peace can be preserved, and the unity of the international communist movement strengthened only if the spearhead of the revolutionary struggle is directed against imperialism which is headed by the United States today.
The Statement of 1960 stresses the importance of the struggle against modern revisionism in the following words:
The Communist Parties have unanimously condemned the Yugoslav variety of international opportunism, a variety of modern revisionist “theories" in concentrated form. After betraying Marxism-Leninism, which they termed obsolete, the leaders of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia opposed their anti-Leninist revisionist programme to the Declaration of 1957; they set the L.C.Y. against the international communist movement as a whole; severed their country from the socialist camp, made is dependent on so-called "aid" from U.S. and other imperialists, and thereby exposed the Yugoslav people to the danger of losing the revolutionary gains achieved through a heroic struggle. The Yugoslav revisionists carry on subversive work against the socialist camp and the world communist movement. Under the pretext of an extra-bloc policy, they engage in activities which prejudice, the unity of all the peace loving forces and countries. Further exposure of the leaders of Yugoslav revisionists and active struggle to safeguard the communist movement and the working-class movement from the anti-Leninist ideas of the Yugoslav revisionists, remains an essential task of the Marxist-Leninist Parties. (Statement of the Meeting of Representative the Communist and Workers Parties)
I have purposely quoted this paragraph in full, because at present this part of the 1960 Statement is of very important significance.
The experience of the Indonesian Communists show that the Yugoslav, modern revisionists are continuing in the way that was severely criticized in the 1960 Statement. This is borne out by the fact that they have been spreading the idea of a "third road" in an attempt to divert the struggle of the countries now fighting imperialism and neo-colonialism. Everyone knows that this "third road" idea has met with opposition in Indonesia. People hold high the banner of the revolutionary idea that there are two, mutually opposed forces in the world today - the new emerging forces versus the old established forces. The Yugoslav revisionists are also engaging in demagogy and are trying to obstruct the formation of a NASAKOM cabinet in Indonesia. They allege that if a NASAKOM cabinet were set up, Indonesia would be isolated, because 1) the NASAKOM cabinet is not approved by the Western countries; 2) it is not approved by the non-aligned countries, and 3) it is not approved by the socialist countries in Eastern Europe. The Indonesian people are implacably opposed to the Malaysian confederation, while the Yugoslav revisionists approve of it. The Yugoslav revisionists are also painstakingly under mining and splitting the revolutionary movement of the people of Asian and Africa countries.
That Yugoslavia is increasingly degenerating into a country serving the interests of the capitalist bloc is borne out by the fact that U.S. economic aid accounts for one-third of Yugoslavia's budget every year and that by 1962 the total amount had reached 3,500 million U.S. dollars. Following the publication of the 1960 Statement, i,e., since 1961, Yugoslavia has "liberalized" its foreign trade, stimulating its import and export trade, while, paralysing domestic industrial production.
Therefore, as is stressed in the 1960 Statement, it remains our obligatory task resolutely to expose the modern revisionists of Yugoslavia.
Although there are serious differences and polemics in the international, communist movement the CPI has successfully turned this distressing situation into something positive. The unity of Marxist-Leninist ideology in the CPI is being increasingly strengthened. This will ensure the victory of the Indonesian revolution and the strengthening of the international communist movement. The measures the CPI has adopted are as follows:
1) The CPI teaches its cadres and members continually and enthusiastically to learn from all fraternal Parties, from both their successful experience and lessons drawn from failures.
2) In order to learn from these experiences and lessons, to accelerate the victory of the Indonesian revolution and to strengthen the international communist movement, cadres and members of our Party must study the views of the fraternal Parties. This means we are teaching our members to adopt a critical, modest, self-confident and serious attitude towards the question of .unity in the international communist Movement.
3) The CPI will continue the struggle against revisionism, both classical and modern, because cessation of this struggle means to stray from the revolutionary road. The CPI will also continue the struggle against dogmatism, both classical and modern, which fails to adopt a critical attitude towards the present experiences, conclusions and programmes of the fraternal Parties.
4) The CPI incessantly strives, for the unity of the international communist movement and for the enhancement of its prestige. It is an active participant in this mighty movement and adheres to proletarian internationalism in both, word and deed.
5) The CPI consistently appeals to the reason of the Communist Party leaders of all countries who earnestly hope to strengthen unity and restore harmony in the international communist movement on the basis of Marxism-Leninism. Marxism-Leninism is now undergoing more and more tests, gaining richer experience and is being further developed.
At the present time no Communists can evade the fact that there are serious and basic differences in the international communist movement, nor can they assume, a neutral attitude towards them. Because of its correct attitude towards the differences arising in the communist, movement, the CPI has suffered no damage in its growth; in fact, the contrary is true. This is proved by the steady growth of the CPI, by the continual improvement of its theoretical level and by the constantly rising Marxist-Leninist spirit of its cadres and members.
As I have said above, in face of the serious differences of views within the international communist movement, the Indonesian Communists are more aware than ever of the correctness of their attitude in this period, namely, their independent attitude, an attitude of loyalty to Marxism-Leninism and proletarian Internationalism and to the 1957 Declaration and the 1960 Statement, an attitude of combating subjectivism, classical and modern ,revisionism and classical and modern dogmatism, an attitude of realistic optimism in the face of the serious and basic differences of views within the international communist movement, regarding this as a temporary phenomenon.
Dear Comrades!
This, then, is all I wish to say today. My purpose is only to inform you of the immediate questions and tasks facing the Indonesian, people and Communists,
You will see from what I have said above that we Indonesian Communists have learnt a great deal from the Chinese revolution as well as from the revolutions of other countries. Now as always, we shall be modest
in learning from the Chinese revolution and the revolutions of other countries.
We shall continue modestly and sincerely to study Marxism-Leninism. Especially at the present stage of the struggle of the international communist movement we should study Marxism-Leninism more, in order to acquire a real understanding of the meaning of Marxist-Leninist teachings. Only by so doing can we avoid becoming falsifiers of Marxism-Leninism or wobbling statesmen; only so can we firmly uphold the real Marxist-Leninist stand.
Indonesian Communists feel that they are already on the correct road, the read, to fully integrating the universal truth of Marxism-Leninism with the actual practice of the revolution in Indonesia.
To a certain extent we have succeeded in "Indonesianizing" Marxism-Leninism. But there is no ground for us to think that our Work has been done perfectly in this respect, and that is why we hold firm to our slogan in work and study: "Know Marxism-Leninism and be acquainted with the situation!"
Thank you!