Wiji Thukul’s Birthday Anniversary and Book
Launch: “Kebenaran Akan Terus Hidup.” August 26 is the birth date of Wiji Thukul, a revolutionary poet who disappeared in early 1997. His anniversary commemoration was accompanied by a book launch titled
“Kebenaran Akan Terus Hidup - The Truth Will Always Be Alive” written by a number of writers, including a high school student. The book contains several articles on Thukul’s daily life and activities. Attending the event were Thukul family members, friends, co-artists, readers, fans, and common people. One interesting thing was when the daughter of Thukul told how she was surprised by her college mates who said that they are big fans of Thukul. It made her realize more and more that her father is really ‘someone’ and that the memory of her father is still in the mind of the younger generation.
Exhibition
During the whole week, we also exhibited some memorabilias of the victims. We collected the items from the families and borrowed them for the purpose of the exhibition. The items were not only about the disappeared, but also of those who were victimized under the New Order regime.
Film Screening
Like the exhibition, we also screened some human rights films from across the world during the whole week. The films include: Batas Panggung, Voice From the Darkness, His Story of Munir, Tuti Koto -A Brave Woman, Wiji Thukul -A Disappeared Poet, Healing Wounds Mending Scars, Mourning Till dawn, Kashmir Cries for Help, Trampled Flowers, Las Madres Plaza de Mayo, and Sinengker. The film screening was free for the public, although it was viewed in a commercial movie theatre (TIM 21 Cineplex).
Tribute to Victims - Art Performances
This activity was held on August 27. The art performance has been quite effective as a tool for campaigning toward the unresolved cases of human rights violations. At least 11 performances were presented at that time by various performers including the poets, musicians, students, youth groups, workers associations, painters, etc. The program was successful in bringing together visitors from different ages and backgrounds to speak about the human rights situation in
Indonesia.
Rally at the Attorney Office and Presidential Palace
On August 30, on which the International Day for the Disappeared falls, we held a protest rally at the Attorney’s Office and the Presidential Palace. The rally was participated in by the victims, activists, students, NGO communities and others. The protesters demanded the Attorney to immediately order the Human Rights Court to investigate enforced disappearance cases of 1997/1998 and urged the President to realize his commitment to human rights enforcement through concrete policies. The rally was widely covered by the media.
Book Launch: Nunca Mas (Indonesian translation)
On August 30, at night, another book was launched. It was the Indonesian translation of Nunca Mas, the report on enforced
disappearances in Argentina made by
CONADEP. The launching was accompanied by a panel discussion. Representatives of the Embassy of Argentina also came to the event.
Overall, the event was successful in meeting the objectives. It involved quite a big coalition among civil society organizations as a joint committee and attracted many visitors including the young generation It was widely covered by the media. At the end, hopefully, the event could contribute to the promotion of a memory of the past abuses in our history.
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It is publicly known that none of the human rights abuses in the past were solved through the judicial process in Indonesia. It seems that the Indonesian human rights mechanism has not been effective to work out the cases. There are too many political factors in the process that hamper the efforts to uncover the truth and deliver justice to the victims. Thus, the cases hovered in between uncertainties. 