Charles Honoris, Tokyo
A nation's history is often dark and filled with controversy. In Indonesia, especially, the truth behind various past human rights abuses remains hidden behind the twisted world of politics.
In an effort to divulge past human rights abuses and to promote reconciliation, the Megawati Sukarnoputri administration enacted the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Law in 2004. Two years later, however, the commission has yet to be established, let alone begin working.
Even after the reforms that began in 1998, the Indonesian government and people appear to be reluctant to uncover the nation's dark past of human rights abuses. Indonesians, according to historian Taufik Abdullah, ""seem to have a hobby of upholding historical burdens.""
It is no secret that in the past, Indonesia's track record on human rights was far from excellent, if not downright ugly. During the Soeharto years, human rights abuses were widespread. Those opposing the regime were forced into submission by any means, including torture. The Indonesian military's presence in conflict areas, such as Aceh and East Timor, was often marked by human rights abuses.
I remember reading years ago the testimony of an Acehnese woman who was tortured by the Army. She was forced to disclose the location of her husband, who was a suspected member of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). She was raped and beaten and by the end of the week had the tips of her nipples cut off with scissors.
In 1991, elements in the Indonesian military are believed to have massacred more than 200 protesters in East Timor in an incident known as the Santa Cruz Massacre. All of this was done in our name.
There are also such unresolved incidents as the student shootings at Trisakti and the May 1998 riots. The government has never apologized to the victims for the State's inability to protect its citizens from such brutal pogroms.
Admitting to this dark past is a necessary step in the process of reconciliation. Germany serves as a good example for countries wishing to repent for their past misdeeds. Germany apologized to Europe and the Jewish people for the terrible war it caused. The atrocities of Nazi Germany were incorporated into the school curriculum, to teach German children not make the same mistakes again.
In 1970, German Chancellor Willy Brandt knelt down in front of the Warsaw Ghetto monument asking the Jewish people for forgiveness for the atrocities committed against them. German apologies and repentance played an important role in the reconciliation of Europe.
On the other side of the continent, the relationship between Japan and its closest neighbors is still burdened by history. The Japanese atrocities in World War II were no less horrifying than those of the Germans. There was the infamous Unit 731, which performed revolting experiments by infecting Chinese prisoners with bacteria and later dissecting them while they were still alive. There were the sad fates of tens of thousands of Asian (and some European) ""comfort women"", and the rapes and pillaging in Nanking.
Japanese leaders never apologized for the war until 1995, when Socialist Prime Minister Murayama issued an apology for Japan's wartime past. However, Japan's apology was not viewed by its neighbors as sincere. Several Japanese leaders, such as Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, continued to visit the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which includes the remains of some people convicted of the most severe kinds of war crimes. Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhao Xing, reacting to these visits, said, ""What would European people think if German leaders were to visit (memorials) related to Hitler and Nazis?""
There is also the issue of Japanese school textbooks, which have downplayed Japanese World War II atrocities and deleted any mention of the ""comfort women"". This triggered violent anti-Japanese riots in China and South Korea in 2005. Japan's bid for a seat at the UN Security Council is opposed by its two neighbors, whilst Germany's bid is fully supported by its former victim of war, France.
The case of Japan shows true reconciliation can only be achieved by establishing the truth and sincerely expressing regret for past mistakes through concrete actions.
Last month, following the commemoration of the coup attempt allegedly led by the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) on Sept. 30, 1965, former political prisoners linked to the PKI called on the government to rectify history and rehabilitate their reputations. Since 1998, several historians have questioned the truth of the official history of that turbulent period.
Some of the alternate explanations of 1965 may be valid, and some may just be conspiracy theories. What we know is that terrible events occurred in the aftermath of the alleged coup attempt, resulting in the deaths of more than 500,000 people (the exact number will never be known). Most of those who died were not members of the Communist Party, but simple peasants who joined the wrong social organization to get more rice and other benefits.
The government must learn from Germany and uncover the many ugly truths Indonesia has been covering up. As a society we need to understand clearly what happened in the past. The study of history helps us avoid repeating the same mistakes. We owe that to the 500,000 or more who died. As the historian George Santayana has said: ""Those who do not remember the past are condemned to relive it.""
The author is a student of political science and law at the International Christian University in Tokyo.
