Long Journey to Preserve the Memory of the Community
Families of victims and victims of the tragedy around the 1998 reform continue to fight for justice. They try to keep the incident from disappearing from public memory.
By
PRAYOGI DWI SULISTYO, DIAN DEWI PURNAMASARI
·5 minutes read
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Families of victims and victims of events related to the 1998 reform remain consistent in trying to maintain collective memory related to human rights violations that occurred in that period. Throughout a quarter century of the Reform Era, they continued to hope justice would arise, even though this event had begun to be forgotten by some people.
Based on Kompas' poll on 9-11 May 202 involving 506 respondents in 38 provinces, one third of respondents did not have an image related to human rights violations at the beginning of the Reform Era. The respondent group aged 17 to 24 years (Generation Z) has the greatest proportion of respondents who said they were ignorant of the events (46.4 percent).
In the midst of that situation, Maria Katarina Sumarsih (71), the parent of Bernardinus Realino Norma Irmawan, or Wawan, who was shot dead in the Semanggi I tragedy, has sought justice for more than 16 years by conveying demands in peaceful actions every Thursday, with the families of other victims, across from the State Palace, Central Jakarta.
"My love for Wawan, sorrow for the death of Wawan, has transformed our family; we struggle to enforce the law as the third reform agenda, namely upholding the rule of law," Sumarsih said in the 773rd Kamisan action, on Thursday (11/5/2023).
Sumarsih was adamant about realizing the reform agenda to enforce the law. Specifically, the Semanggi I-II and Trisakti cases are to be taken to court.
Maria Cornelia Kuryati Sanu (75), the parent of Stevanus Sarintus Antonius Sanu, also awaited state accountability. Stevanus was a victim of the May 1998 riots who caught fire in Yogya Plaza Klender in May 1998.
Maria said she was once offered a jalan islah (out-of-court reconciliation), but refused, so she was questioned by the families of other victims. "If we want to accept reconciliation, the way of islah, that means we 'sell' our children. Where will the justice be later? Therefore, I still insist on this," she said.
We struggle to enforce the law as the third reform agenda, namely upholding the rule of law.
In addition, she also hopes the state will pay attention to the families of the victims. Assistance from the state and other institutions is expected.
From Surakarta, Central Java, the eldest daughter of activist and poet Widji Thukul, Fitri Nganthi Wani (34), was heard telling the story of her wait for justice for the fate of her father, lost 25 years ago. Several times she stammered, because it was difficult to express her disappointment. As of the day her mother, Dyah Sujirah, also called “Sipon”, died early last year, the whereabouts of her father, who has been lost since the 1998 reform, was still unknown.
Wani said her mother struggled immensely after Widji Thukul disappeared. Sipon had many struggles in supporting Wani and her younger brother, Fajar Merah, from experiencing terror to difficulty in getting a loan for funds to open a business. Wani and Fajar also could not complete formal education because of limited funds.
Nonjudicial settlement
The Director General of Human Rights of the Law and Human Rights Ministry Dhahana Putra said the state had been present in restoring victims' rights, especially from the perspective of nonjudicial resolution. Recently, the President published three legal instruments for resolving past severe human rights violations: Presidential Decree No. 17/2022 on the Nonjudicial Resolution Team of Past Human Rights Violations, Presidential Instruction (Inpres) No. 2/2023 on Follow-up Resolution of Past Human Rights Violations and Inpres No. 4/2023 on the Monitoring Team for Settlement of Past Human Rights Violations.
Under the legal umbrella, it is mandated the rights of victims of 12 gross human rights violations that have been investigated by the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) must be restored, one of which is the 1998 event. "The Inpres also assigns 19 ministries and institutions to provide recovery for the victims," he said.
Chairperson of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) Atnike Nova Sigiro, on Tuesday (5/23), hoped the nonjudicial settlement program that began in the era of the Jokowi-Ma'ruf government has a long-term vision. The reason is the form of recovery of victims of gross human rights violations, already delayed 25 years, cannot be implemented in a hurry.
There is no equal recompense possible for victims who experience permanent disability and those who lost family members. According to her, a long-term master plan is needed because it is believed the recovery program will not be completed this year.
Institutionally, there is already the Komnas HAM and Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK), which is given the mandate to present justice for the victims. The Presidential Decree and Inpres legal umbrella related to nonjudicial settlement must be strengthened.
This requires the role of the House of Representatives and political parties by including the agenda of justice for victims of gross human rights violations. "The House must be able to make regulations that lock policies that are already good to be continued by the next government. One of them is by strengthening the institutional function of the Komnas HAM and LPSK," she said.
Executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia Usman Hamid revealed the protracted resolution of cases of human rights violations was at risk of decreasing the echo of reform commemorations in the future. However, he was optimistic the struggle in various activity initiatives is still being implemented. This is inextricably linked to the role of many parties, such as students, campuses, 1998 activist alumni and the National Commission on Women (Komnas Perempuan). (Z 17)