August 17 should be a happy day<\/p>\n
By Harkiman Racheman<\/p>\n
MEDAN, North Sumatra (JP): On Aug. 17, the country will
\ncelebrate the 54th anniversary of its independence, seized from
\nthe Dutch colonists and the occupying Japanese in 1945. After
\nseveral decades where the date was marked by monotonous
\nhistorical reminiscences of the colonial past, the most important
\nevent in the history of contemporary Indonesia will be free this
\nyear of the New Order regime's political dictates.<\/p>\n
Put succinctly, the commemoration is likely to be finally
\nindependent of the New Order's militaristic bent.<\/p>\n
In welcoming a new Indonesia under a completely new system of
\ngovernment in the foreseeable future, it may well be essential
\nfor us to revise, or better still reassess, the true significance
\nof the anniversary to ensure the commemoration itself will no
\nlonger amount to being a ritual formality devoid of connection to
\nlife and real experience.<\/p>\n
In fact, it is widely expected that this year's celebration
\nwill conjure up renewed nationalistic emotions, ones which are
\nrelevant especially within the context of the country redesigning
\na blueprint for its renewed future.<\/p>\n
Under the powerful regimes of Sukarno (1945 to 1967) and
\nSoeharto (1968 to 1999), the commemoration of the anniversary was
\ninterpreted and conducted primarily in conjunction with the
\nvested interests of the two different regimes. Under both
\ninfluential leaders, the commemoration of the Independence Day
\nseemed to be a \"state\" event only (read \"not yet for the
\nmasses\"). Therefore, the celebration had to be arranged and
\ndesigned in a top-down manner and was expectedly awkward and
\nrigid as a result.<\/p>\n
We may rightly ask: What is wrong with celebrating
\nIndependence Day creatively, in a relaxed and joyous manner? We
\ncould take examples from the peoples in neighboring countries,
\nwithout paying too much attention to campaign-like speeches or
\nbrainwashing slogans. Without overly formal protocol and without
\nmaking it look as if the celebrations, if anything, are only an
\nofficial event of the state.<\/p>\n
In other words, would it not be ideal to see Indonesia's
\nindependence celebrated in a multicontextual or even multimedia
\nmanner in accordance with the sociocultural developments and
\nchanges in the life of the nation as a whole? To mention one
\nextreme suggestion, would it even be so intolerably wrong to see
\nthe celebration presented as a foreign exchange-generating
\ntourist attraction?<\/p>\n
Immediately following the attainment of the country's
\nindependence from the Dutch in 1945, the commemoration of
\nIndependence Day was, imaginably, a sheer celebration of the
\nheroics of the country's great patriots. It centered around a
\nkaleidoscope of historical events, feting heroes with unrivaled
\ncourage.<\/p>\n
It is not hard to imagine even now that the commemoration in
\nthose days was colored by gross emotional outbursts. Such oft-
\nused war cries as \"Merdeka! Merdaka!\" (Freedom! Freedom!) were
\nused to express revengeful and acrimonious feelings toward the
\nDutch and the Japanese.<\/p>\n
That may well have been the reason why the day-to-day life of
\nthe nation demonstrated impulsive swings of emotionalism. It was
\nonly much later, when the passage of time had separated the
\npeople from their own emotional attachment to the dark age of
\ncolonization, that Indonesians were made aware of the
\ndisadvantages of being trapped in the haunting historical past.<\/p>\n
They also must have learned that similarly colonized nations
\nin Southeast Asia were starting to emerge from colonialism's
\nshadow in order to start rebuilding their future and to let go of
\nregrets from the past.<\/p>\n
Under the New Order, the commemoration of Independence Day
\ntook a radical shift from the Old Order's stance. No longer were
\nthere open expressions of abuse or disrespect for the former
\ncolonizer. Instead, it became a nationwide meditation, especially
\non the meritorious deeds of the courageous members of the '45
\nGeneration (Angkatan '45) in liberating the country from the
\noppression of alien powers as well as their service in
\nmaintaining national development. As part of the commemoration
\nitself, the entire population was supposed to declare its
\ncomplete loyalty to preserving the values and spirit of the '45
\nGeneration.<\/p>\n
There is, however, a clear suggestion here that the real
\nsignificance of the Indonesian independence has to be regularly
\ntranslated and actualized into the most current conditions of the
\nentire populace. Unfortunately, there was at the same time a
\nfrequent reference to a certain political agenda. The New Order
\noften utilized the anniversary to impose maximum blind loyalty
\nderived from the '45 Generation on the people.<\/p>\n
It is no wonder that the teachings of the '45 Generation later
\nbecame a standard code of conduct in not only commemorating the
\nIndependence Day but also judging historical events. However, it
\nmust be stressed here that within the framework of defending and
\npreserving the inherited values, implicit authoritarianism was
\nused as a tolerable pretext for more than three decades. Thus,
\nunder such a militaristic regime, the anniversary of Indonesian
\nindependence could only be a series of sacred and occasionally
\nfrightening military ceremonies.<\/p>\n
However, with the fall of Soeharto's regime, itself a symbol
\nof the mammoth strength of the '45 Generation, the commemoration
\nof Independence Day must now shift from the value polarization of
\nthe past. With the victory of the people's sovereignty and the
\nmounting pressure by the reformist movement, the once-glorified
\n'45 Generation's values and spirit will have to be sidelined.<\/p>\n
However relevant some of the values may remain, it is now
\nacknowledged that those traditional values are not and cannot be
\nthe only philosophical grounds for the welfare of the nation. In
\nthe context of the present times, which is undoubtedly so
\ndifferent from the past, other remedial values may well be more
\nurgently required. Therefore, under pressure for reform and
\nchange, it seems that the '45 Generation's influence will have to
\nbe replaced by the reformist front, which accentuates the power
\nto immediately liberate the country from the present social,
\neconomic, political and cultural crises.<\/p>\n
Commemoration of Indonesian independence in the reform era of
\ndemocracy has to be a celebration of the newly acquired freedom
\nby the entire population of the country. In other words, it is a
\ncelebration of the people's victory against various kinds of New
\nOrder corruption, collusion and nepotism and other unscrupulous
\nvalues from the past regime.<\/p>\n
Not thoroughly a celebration of the country's freedom from the
\ncolonial Dutch or the Japanese as such, the anniversary should
\nnow be seen as a commemoration of a complete freedom from the New
\nOrder's deviations, distortions and manipulations.<\/p>\n
Let us hope that the commemoration of the anniversary this
\nyear will give rise to a totally liberated atmosphere for the
\ngeneral public to celebrate their reempowerment. We hope that the
\nwhole country will remember that Independence Day, proclaimed in
\n1945 by the founding fathers Sukarno and Hatta, in a relaxed,
\ncreative and joyous manner befitting a public celebration. The
\ndays are gone when the anniversary had to be commemorated only in
\na formal militaristic ritual.<\/p>\n
Finally, may this year's anniversary celebration of the
\ncountry's Independence Day not be weighed down by formal
\nspeeches, dull rhetoric, meaningless advice or other
\nindoctrinating messages. It is, indeed naive, to think that the
\npopulace would not know how to be grateful to their past heroes
\nfor what they did to liberate the country. Times have changed.
\nLet the ordinary folks celebrate their freedom freely and not
\nwithin an atmosphere of formal protocol or rigid ceremonies. Long
\nlive Indonesian independence and long live our most beloved
\ncountry!<\/p>\n
The writer is a graduate of Victoria University of Wellington,
\nNew Zealand. Based in Medan, he is currently a freelance writer
\nand university lecturer.<\/p>",
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