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ctivists have reported the discovery of a mass grave of victims of the 1965/1966 purge of suspected communists to the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), hoping a decent burial can be provided for the victims.

'€œWe have sent a letter to Komnas HAM to discuss whether or not the remains of the victims can be reburied in a decent manner,'€ Yunantyo, coordinator of the Semarang Society Union for Human Rights (PMS-HAM) said on Monday.

The mass grave is located in a residential area in Wonosari subdistrict, Mangkang district, Semarang in Central Java. Based on information gathered by activists, as many as 24 victims are buried in two pits.

Yunantyo said he and two other activists, Rian Adhivira and Unu P. Herlambang, had gone to the grave site several times this year. They interviewed local residents, including a number of witnesses who covered the pits after the victims were executed in 1966.

He added that the report was aimed at seeking advice from Komnas HAM as to whether the bodies of the victims could be reburied in a proper manner. '€œA decent reburial includes matters like prayers by religious leaders. Some of them were Muslims as well as others of other faiths. They might not have been prayed for after being executed, or their bodies might not have been treated appropriately,'€ he said.

Yunantyo added that it was difficult to ascertain the victims'€™ religion because their relatives were unaware of their location, but his group would involve leaders of various religions to pray for them.

Apart from Semarang, mass graves of victims of the purge have also been found in other regions, such as Wonosobo, Magelang and Tuntang. The reburial of some victims in the has taken place peacefully, but there have also been protests by residents.

Rian said his group only wanted the reburial of the victims to be carried out legally. '€œThis is not in the framework of politics or ideology, but purely humanity and forgiveness of the nation'€™s suffering in the past,'€ he said.

Meanwhile, Semarang Historical Activists Community (KPS) coordinator Rukardi Achmadi expressed his support for the call for a decent reburial of the victims of the
tragedy.

'€œThe victims might not have had knowledge of the 1965 aborted putsch [which preempted the purge]. But because of political outrage and the Indonesian Communist Party [PKI] being blamed for the attempted coup, those who were accused of PKI membership were either murdered, abducted, raped or treated as slaves,'€ said Rukardi.

He added that the situation then was complicated, confused and no one was able to control it. '€œNow, we should forgive each other. It was part of our history, and history should not be forgotten, but it should serve as a lesson for the current and future generations,'€ he said.