Aristides Katoppo (JP/Ricky Yudhistira)

Senior journalist and former chief editor of Sinar Harapan daily Aristides “Tides” Katoppo passed away at 12:05 p.m. on Sunday at Abdi Waluyo Hospital in Menteng, Central Jakarta.

Tides’ son, Jura Katoppo, said the senior journalist was being treated at the hospital prior to his death for pains that spread from his left leg to the whole of his body. Jura added Tides had heart trouble for the past several years, as reported by kompas.com.

Shobi Lawalata, a learning facilitator at United in Diversity, which was cofounded by Aristides, told The Jakarta Post that Tides’ wife Sasmiyarsi “Mimis” Sasmoyo told her the senior journalist might have been exhausted after attending the 50th anniversary of the death of Soe Hok Gie on Mount Semeru, East Java. Tides was one of Gie’s close friends in the 1960s.

Tides’ body is currently lying in repose in Gatot Subroto Army Hospital in Jakarta, the cremation will take place on Tuesday afternoon at Oasis Lestari, Tangerang, Banten.

Born in Tomohon, North Sulawesi, on March 14, 1938, Tides’ name rose to prominence in international journalism in the 1960s, when his exclusive reports headlined leading newspapers such as Indonesia’s afternoon newspaper Sinar Harapan and The New York Times.

In one of his articles, Tides covered the January 1964 visit of then United States attorney general Robert Kennedy to meet president Sukarno in Jakarta who bore a letter on the issue of Irian Jaya from his late brother John F. Kennedy.

Although Kennedy was accompanied by an entourage of US journalists, Tides was the only journalist who was given access to the letter.

The authoritarian New Order government under president Soeharto closed down Sinar Harapan while Tides was in charge in 1986 for its report about an unpublished state budget, said Ignatius Haryanto, founder of Press and Development Studies Institute (LSPP).

“He was inspiring. Although he didn’t attend higher education, he could learn by himself from anything and anyone. He was a student until the end of his days,” said Ignatius, who was taught by Tides in the University of Indonesia between 1987 and 1990.

Tides was among the people working to resurrect the newspaper in 2001. When the afternoon newspaper started publishing again that year, he was appointed as its editor-in-chief.

When Sinar Harapan decided to cease its print operation in 2015, Tides urged his team to continue reporting news through a new platform.

“At that time, he wanted Sinar Harapan to continue to shine its light. He didn’t want Sinar Harapan to fade away, which eventually led to the birth of our new digital platform,” sinarharapan.net chief Tutut Herlina told the Post on Sunday.

Apart from urging his reporters to diligently check facts, Tutut added, Tides always tried to promote the “peace journalism” approach.

“One day, he was mad at us when we published a story on the military’s state of emergency in Aceh because he thought the story would only provoke more conflict rather than offering solutions,” she said.

In his old age, Tides was still active in helping the younger generations to develop. He assisted in the launch of The Conversation Indonesia in 2015 and later became a member of its advisory board.

“He liked to support young journalists, telling us to reach for the sky. His life spirit was so strong. He was also optimistic about Indonesia's future despite the current situation,” The Conversation Indonesia executive editor Prodita Sabarini told the Post.

“The last time we met was in August when he and I had coffee together. We didn’t only talk about work, but also about our shared hobby of hiking and mountain climbing,” she went on to say.

Apart from his career in journalism, Tides was also known for assisting several organizations to grow, including the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) and the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI).

Several other figures have also expressed their condolences on Twitter, including political observer M. Fadjroel Rachman, artist Sujiwo Tejo and Anita Wahid, the daughter of the late former president Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid.

“Innalillahi wainnailaihirojiun [We belong to Allah and to Allah we shall return], condolences on the passing away of Bapak Aristides Katoppo, a journalist and press freedom fighter. I hope you are now peaching by His side, Pak Tides. Maybe now you are having fun with Gus Dur there,” Anita wrote in her Twitter account, @AnitaWahid.

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