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Dear President, don’t let Indonesia’s dark history repeat itself
Governments can demonstrate their commitment to human rights and the rule of law by admitting past human rights violations and providing victims and the public with accurate and impartial information.
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Portraits of injustice: Members of the Victims Solidarity Network for Justice (JSKK) display the pictures of victims of past human rights violations during a rally outside the State Palace on Sept. 14, 2023. It was the 787th edition of the protest, which is held every Thursday. (Antara/Sigid Kurniawan)
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t least 500,000 people lost their lives in the 1965 tragedy, an anti-communist crackdown that took place in the aftermath of the aborted Sept. 30, 1965 coup attempt at the height of the Cold War. Widespread systematic killings and mass imprisonment of those who were indiscriminately accused of being members or sympathizers of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) marked a dark period of state oppression.
On Jan. 11 of this year, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo made a speech that recognized the 1965 tragedy as part of 12 gross human rights violations spanning from 1965 to 2003. Apart from the 1965 tragedy, President Jokowi called attention to the 1998-1999 Jakarta protest shootings that killed 32 people and killings and torture that took place in Wamena, Papua, in 2003.
The presidential acknowledgment followed the recommendations of the Nonjudicial Resolution Team for Past Serious Human Rights Violations led by Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD.
While President Jokowi's acknowledgment is a step in the right direction, words simply do not go far enough to bring about justice, truth and reparation. The authorities must impartially investigate all those suspected of criminal responsibility as a matter of utmost urgency and preserve the historical memory of periods of violence and repression, in accordance with the wishes of victims and their families.
President Jokowi must honor his commitment that such violations “never happen again”.
The 12 gross human rights violations that President Jokowi acknowledged are not part of history lessons. The authorities can help create a culture of accountability and promote human rights by including the violations in the official history and as part of the school curriculum.
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” said George Santayana, a Spanish-American philosopher, whose words remain a strong reminder that authorities and society must accept their past, to make sure it is not replicated in the future.
