The leader of the PKI, then in Moscow, on the state of the movement three years after the defeat of Indonesia’s ant-colonial insurrection.

‘The National Parties and the Worker’s Organisations of Indonesia’ by Mumawa Musso from International Press Correspondence. Vol. 9 No. 27. June 7, 1929.

The bloody suppression of the insurrection of 1926 and the ruthless persecution and banishment of the Communists, resulted in the dissolution of the revolutionary trade unions and considerably paralysed the activities of the Communists among the working class of Indonesia. Two years have passed since the end of the insurrections, and during this period many attempts have been made to reorganise the shattered apparatus of the revolutionary trade unions, but without success owing to the severity of the savage white terror practised by the Dutch imperialists.

The Dutch imperialists recognise that their victory is only of a temporary character, and therefore, in addition to strengthening their police and military forces, are trying to pacify the exploited workers by means of the social democrats, and also introducing some reforms to improve the position of the workers in general. Their efforts to pacify the workers have not, however, met with much success.

Although the ruthless repressive measures of the Dutch imperialists crushed the trade union movement for the time being, reports which have come to hand during the last year or so go to indicate that in some places the trade unions are reviving and are being organised by the existing national parties. Thus the National Party of Indonesia, led by the intellectuals, succeeded not long ago in attracting the transport workers and the metal workers under their influence.

The Sarekat-Islam, although it has not been so successful in its attempts to reorganise the workers as the National Party of Indonesia, has been able to gather a considerable number of motor drivers under its banner. In its trade union activity, however, the Sarekat-Islam pursues not only a reformist but a class collaboration policy. It is true that up to 1921 the Sarekat-Islam was the only political movement which was giving a revolutionary lead to the trade unions. (The general strike of the sugar workers in 1919 was led by the Sarekat-Islam.) But when the struggle for hegemony arose between the Communist Party and the Sarekat-Islam, the latter’s influence and activities among the workers rapidly declined.

Not only the National Party of Indonesia, the Sarekat-Islam and the Social Democrats are busying themselves with reorganising the working class of Indonesia; a non-party group has succeeded in organising the unorganised workers. This group is creating independent organisations the characteristic of which is they eschew politics altogether and confine themselves strictly to the economic field.

This new organisation (Sarekat Kaum Burah Indonesia) is gaining more and more ground not only among the workers of Soerabaya, but also of those of other places. A conflict recently arose among the leaders of this organisation, and one of them attempted to bring it under the leadership of the revolutionary nationalists. This attempt was, however, frustrated and the pro-nationalist leaders were expelled from the leadership of the S.K.B.I.

The Nationalists have undertaken the organisation of the Post, Telegraph and Telephone workers; but only the better paid strata of workers have been organised and the lower grade workers have remained untouched.

It is now evident that the reorganising of the trade unions, although on a small scale, is nearly completed in every Government and capitalist undertaking. The authorities, although they are fully aware of the rapid development of some of the unions, have up to now remained inactive and not done anything to check the further growth of the unions. It may be that the Dutch imperialists are at present inclined to grant the Indonesian workers a certain amount of freedom to organise, or, on the other hand, are adopting a waiting attitude in order to see in what direction the new unions will develop.

International Press Correspondence, widely known as”Inprecorr” was published by the Executive Committee of the Communist International (ECCI) regularly in German and English, occasionally in many other languages, beginning in 1921 and lasting in English until 1938. Inprecorr’s role was to supply translated articles to the English-speaking press of the International from the Comintern’s different sections, as well as news and statements from the ECCI. Many ‘Daily Worker’ and ‘Communist’ articles originated in Inprecorr, and it also published articles by American comrades for use in other countries. It was published at least weekly, and often thrice weekly. A major contributor to the Communist press in the U.S., Inprecorr is an invaluable English-language source on the history of the Communist International and its sections.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/international/comintern/inprecor/1929/v09n27-jun-07-1929-inprecor.pdf