manifesto

Sosialis Party of Aceh(SPA)
manifesto for local election 2009

After more than Sixty-two years of independence, the people of Aceh and Indonesia are still not free from the basic problems of poverty, hunger, illiteracy and disease. The social and economic emancipation of millions of Acehnees remains an unfinished agenda. There can be no real advance towards a more democratic society accompanied by economic and social justice for all citizens without breaking free from the policies pursued by successive governments after independence which have favoured the owners of big capital, landlords and the tiny section of the rich in Aceh. It is only the SPA and the Left parties who present alternative policies which can bring about basic social transformation.
The struggle for such alternative policies is part of the basic platform of SPA. In the present local elections, the Party wishes to set forth a set of policies which are relevant for the advance to a new Aceh.

Land Reforms

· Keeping in mind that seventy per cent of the people of Aceh live in the

rural areas, the single most important step for rural transformation is the

implementation of land reforms.

· The new policy will reverse the current thrust to dilute land ceiling laws

and provide fresh momentum for speedy and comprehensive steps for

implementing land reforms.

· To achieve this, loopholes in the existing laws have to be plugged.

· Takeover and distribution of surplus land above the ceiling, handing over

cultivable waste land to the landless, priority to be given to landless

scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in land distribution; correction of

land records, security for tenants. Issuance of joint pattas for women.

Develop Agriculture

· Increased public investment in agriculture.

· Prohibit sale of agricultural lands to foreign companies or their subsidiaries

for agri-business.

· Ensure self-sufficiency in foodgrains production; remunerative prices for

crops through market intervention by the state.

· Greater allocation for developing irrigation facilities.

· Comprehensive insurance schemes for crop and cattle.

· Expansion of credit facilities for poor peasants and small farmers.

· Increase subsidies on agricultural inputs.

· Sufficient allocations and encouragement to animal husbandry, pisci

culture, poultry farming, seri culture.

Industries

The SPA stands for:

· Increased public investment in infrastructure; review of power and

telecom policies in tune with interests of national development; adequate

public outlays for power, communications, railways and road development.

· Strengthening of the public sector in the core and strategic areas by

injecting fresh capital and technology.

· Foreign capital to be channeled in those areas for which clear-cut priorities

are set. These priorities are to be determined by the need for developing

new production capacities and acquiring new technology.

· Protection of domestic industry from indiscriminate lowering of import

duties and takeover of existing Aceh companies by foreign companies.

Private sector to be encouraged to invest in new productive areas and the service sector like tourism.

· Encouragement to small-scale industries with adequate incentives and

sufficient credit from banks.

· Protection of traditional industries such as handloom, coir, etc. Yarn to be

provided at control rates for the weavers and adequate facilities for the

marketing of their goods.

· Ending the deployment of deep-sea fishing trawlers, protecting rights of

the fishing community.

Financial Sector

Steps to strengthen LIC and GIC as part of the public sector in the insurance

field; foreign companies should be barred entry into this sector; the trend of

privatizing the banking sector should be halted. Reforms should be introduced to

make banks accountable and restore social priorities; there should be proper

regulation of non-banking finance companies to safeguard interests of depositors;

capital flows should be regulated; no convertibility should be allowed on the

capital account.

Resource Mobilisation

· Broaden the direct taxes base; instead of reducing taxes on the rich, raise

the tax rates on the affluent sections (corporate tax, wealth tax, income

tax, etc.) and ensure strict compliance; tax evasion should be firmly dealt

with.

· Unearth black money kept inside and outside the country and tap it for

productive purposes.

· Wasteful expenditure and the growing misuse of public money by

officialdom and public servants should be stopped.

Public Distribution System

Food security should be the highest priority of the government. This requires the

strengthening and expansion of the public distribution system. For this the SPA

advocates:

· 14 essential commodities should be included for supply under the PDS.

· Overhead costs should be curtailed; FCI and distribution mechanism

should be streamlined.

Rights of the Working People

Agricultural Workers

The SPA will uncompromisingly struggle for:

A central legislation for agricultural workers to protect the basic rights which

should include:

· guaranteed minimum wages;

· pension and other social benefits;

· provision of homestead lands;

· equal wages for equal work for women agricultural workers;

· provision of workmen’s compensation for accidents.

Working Class

The SPA will fight for:

· Revival of sick units, halt privatisation of profitable public sector units,

revival of sick public sector units by a suitable package of measures

including reorienting the government policy on tax-concession, orderplacement,

credit, etc., in that direction.

· Rejecting the retrograde recommendations of the Report of the Second

National Commission on Labour aimed at vesting the employers with the

right to ‘hire and fire’ to the detriment of the interests of the workers.

· Rescinding the notification issued by the government adding a new

classification of ‘fixed term employment workman’ under the Model

Standing Order Rules, a concept which will wipe out permanency in all jobs

even in the organised sector.

· Provision of need-based minimum wage for workers, revision of the

statutory minimum wages in that direction with the provision of automatic

linkage of the emoluments with price index. Restoration of interest rate in

Provident Fund.

· Rejuvenating the enforcement machinery of labour laws and social security

legislations and suitable amendments in the laws to provide for stringent

punishment for violation and expanding their coverage.

· Comprehensive legislation for the workers in the unorganised sector and

home-based workers to govern their service condition, job-security,

grievance-redressal and social security benefit adequately financed by

budgetary allocation by the government.

· Recognition of trade unions through secret ballot and protection of trade

union rights and right to collective bargaining by a truly representative

forum.

· Effective scheme for workers’ participation in management in both public

and private sector.

Protect the Right to Strike

· Safeguarding the right to organise, collective bargaining and the right to

strike for all workers, including government employees, by legislation adopted

in Parliament to annul the Supreme Court judgement prohibiting strikes.

· Aceh with Indonesian should ratify the International Labour Organisation convention which accords government employees the rights which other citizens enjoy,

subject to their administrative responsibilities.

Women’s Rights

The SPA commits in policy and practice to fight for women’s rights in every

sphere at a time when women face the worst assault on their rights.

· While holding the NDA government squarely responsible for the shameful

failure to pass the Women’s Reservation Bill the SPA pledges to

continue its firm support for one-third reservation for women in the

legislatures and to work for its passage in the new parliament.

· It also supports the important amendments to the Domestic Violence Bill

moved by women’s organisations and will work for its passage. It will also

work for the adoption of laws against sexual harassment and child abuse.

· The SPA supports a huge expansion in employment opportunities for

women in the organised sector and in rural areas with equal wages; it will

fight all attempts to remove protective legislation for women in the name

of labour reform; it supports legislation for unorganised sector workers

including home-based workers and domestic workers.

· It demands implementation of joint pattas for women in all land

distributed including housing plots given in urban areas by government

and special schemes for female headed households.

· The state should provide credit at low rates of interest to self-help groups

and assistance to market their products.

· Condemning female foeticide and the alarming decrease in sex ratios, the

SPA pledges to strengthen existing laws against female feoticide,

implement them and support social campaigns in favour of the girl child. It

will strongly oppose any coercive population control measures or the

promotion of hazardous contraceptives for women.

· The SPA advocates equal rights for women of all communities. It

demands compulsory registration of marriages. Eradication of the practice

of dowry as a national mission.

· It also stands for a comprehensive media policy to check the growing

trend of commodification of women.

Children’s Rights

· Universalisation of child care services; all children upto 6 years should be

in education.

· Prohibition of child labour and enforcing rights of children subject to such

exploitation.

Education

The SPA will strive for:

· Upgradation of the salaries of elementary school teachers and providing

schools equipped with basic facilities.

· Syllabus and curriculum to inculcate secularism, progressive values,

scientific temper and national unity.

· Ensure social control over private educational institutions for regulation of

admissions, fees and content of education. Central legislation to empower

the states to regulate self-financing institutions.

· Allocation of 20 per cent of union budget for education.

· Support to mass literacy programmes.

· Democratisation of the higher education system and development of

vocational education.

Health

The public health system is in a state of disarray. The trend towards

privatisation of health services must be reversed. The SPA advocates:

· Increasing the expenditure on public health by the government to 5 per

cent of the GDP.

· Provision of an adequate network of primary health centres that guarantee

the delivery of all basic services and have sufficient stocks of medicines

that are procured through a transparent drug procurement system based

on the list of essential drugs. The Primary Health Care infrastructure

should include a National Community Health Worker scheme to deliver

basic health services at the habitation (village/urban settlement) level.

· Ensuring supply of essential drugs at prices affordable to the common

people. All essential drugs should be under price control.

WTO Issues

Agriculture

The SPA wants the government to adopt the following stand in the interests of

Aceh and the developing countries with regard to the iniquitous provisions in the

agreement on agriculture:

· Reduction of domestic and export subsidies of developed countries.

· Reintroduction of quantitative restrictions on import of those commodities

that get subsidies above the allowable minimum in their home countries.

· Increase in import tariffs to protect domestic agriculture.

· Protect biodiversity and seed rights of farming communities and create an

institutional state framework to fight biopiracy.

Patents

The amendments to the Aceh Patent Act of 1970 has introduced many

imbalances that favour the multinational pharmaceutical industry and is inimical

to the interests of the common people and the indigenous drug industry.

The SPA advocates:

· A review of the pending Patents Third Amendment Bill, with a view to

addressing the imbalances. Specifically, the issues that need to be

addressed include: a system of compulsory licensing that promotes real

competition in the market; automatic granting of compulsory license for

government use and in the case of drugs that address major public health

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problems; and ban on the patenting of life forms, including microorganisms.

· A comprehensive review of the TRIPS agreement in the WTO based on

the experience of the last 9 years, and specifically to overturn the pro-

MNC and pro-developed countries bias in the agreement.

Services

The SPA will demand that:

· In the negotiations for General Agreement on Trade Services (GATS) Aceh

should not make offers for market access for basic services like education,

health and water resources.

· Review of existing agreement to rectify imbalances should be undertaken

first.

· No commitment for privatisation and entry of foreign entities in services

which should be governed by social benefit rather than profit.

Water Resources

· Water is a public resource which cannot be privatised.

· There should be a new National Water Policy. Provide for

community role in management of water resources. Exercise

control on indiscriminate use of ground water.

· Provision of potable drinking water to all villages must be a priority task.

Housing

· Housing to be accorded the status of a basic right; housing schemes for

urban and rural poor to be stepped up.

Employment

· Guarantee right to work as a fundamental right.

· Provide food-for-work programmes to generate employment.

· Ensure adequate credit for self-employment schemes for educated

unemployed, artisans and disabled persons.

· Scrap freeze in recruitment in the Government sector.

Senior Citizens

· Grant of pension to working people as a third benefit; one-rank onepension

for ex-servicemen; upgrading pensions of all categories of

pensioners in consonance with the cost of living.

Social Justice for Oppressed

The SPA calls for:

Dalits

· Stringent action against untouchability and atrocities against scheduled

castes and scheduled tribes and invoking of the provisions of the

Prevention of Atrocities Act for this purpose.

· Ensuring that quotas for reservation for scheduled castes and tribes are

filled up. Statutory reservation of same quota of jobs in public sector and

government departments’ jobs which are privatised.

· OBC reservation to be implemented.

· Reservation to be

Tribal/Adivasi People

· Protect land rights of adivasis and restore land illegally alienated from

them.

· Ensure the right of access to forests and forest produce; the Forest Act be

amended for this purpose. Recording of rights of inhabitants of forest

villages.

· No project, industrial or developmental, should be undertaken where

displacement of tribal people occurs without a comprehensive and

sustainable rehabilitation package. Such a scheme must be put in place

before any displacement or work begins.

Rights of Minorities

· Protection of the just rights of the minorities; implement provisions of the

Constitution to prevent discrimination.

· Special schemes for promoting educational facilities for deprived

minorities; provision for equal opportunities for employment; availability

of bank credit for self-employment.

· Promotion and support to Aceh language.

Youth

· A national youth policy must be adopted which comprehensively deals with

issues of special concern to youth.

· The State should provide for an adequate network of sports and cultural

facilities for youth in all parts of the country.

Media and Culture

· All national languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution

should be equally encouraged and developed.

· Prohibit cross-media ownership to

prevent monopolies. Remove decision allowing foreign stakes of print

media.

· Enforce a media code for satellite broadcasters.

· Ensure that states have a say in media policy and programmes in the

public broadcasting service.

· To prevent any infringement of the freedom of expression of the media, it

is necessary to codify the laws relating to legislative privilege. Parliament

and state legislatures should undertake this task.

Science and Technology

A science and technology policy must be adopted which:

· Promotes self-reliant development.

· Development of scientific institutions and popularization of a scientific

temper.

· Strong R&D base through public funding, CSIR laboratories, etc.

Environment

· Formulate an environment policy which is integrated with the needs of

rapid and sustainable development.

· Strict control must be exercised against industries using hazardous

technology which affects the health of workers and the neighbourhood.

· Stringent action should be taken against contractors illegally cutting down

forests.

· There has to be a uniform national rehabilitation policy for persons

displaced by development projects.

· Develop mass-transit and public transport system to curb vehicular

pollution.

· Steps to check soil and river erosion.

Electoral Reforms

· Proportional representation with partial list system.

· Effective steps to prohibit persons with criminal background from contesting

elections.

· State funding in the form of material for recognised political parties

· Prohibition on corporate funding to political parties.

Fight Corruption

· Suitable institutional mechanism should be established to stop corruption

· Right to Information Act should be implemented.

Judicial Reforms

· Reforms in judicial system to provide speedy relief at affordable cost to the

common people.

· Judicial Commission comprising of representatives

from judiciary, executive, legislature and bar for appointment, transfer of

judges and to ensure judicial accountability.

· There should be a proper balance in the relations between the legislature,

judiciary and the executive and the exercise of powers in their respective

spheres without encroaching into the legitimate domain of other organs.