Honoring our very own heroes with major medals<\/p>\n
By Amir Sidharta<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The study of history used to be centered around
\ngreat figures and great events. In 332 B.C. Alexander the Great
\nfounded the city of Alexandria near the western arm of the Nile
\nin Egypt. Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492. Among
\nthe most commemorable events in the history of Indonesia are
\nFatahillah's establishment of Jayakarta on June 22, 1527 and
\nSukarno's proclamation of Indonesia's independence on Aug. 17,
\n1945.<\/p>\n
This year, in conjunction with the nation's 53rd anniversary
\nof independence, President B.J. Habibie conferred the Bintang
\nRepublik Indonesia medal, the country's highest honor, on his
\nwife Hasri Ainun Besari, Coordinating Minister for the Economy,
\nFinance and Industry Ginandjar Kartasasmita, Coordinating
\nMinister for Development Supervision and State Administrative
\nReforms Hartarto Sastrosoenarto, Coordinating Minister for
\nPeople's Welfare and Poverty Alleviation Haryono Suyono, Minister
\nof Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas, Minister\/State Secretary Akbar
\nTandjung and former finance minister Radius Prawiro.<\/p>\n
\"The President... decided to confer the Bintang Republik
\nIndonesia award as a special honor for the honorees'
\nextraordinary services to the state and nation, for the sake of
\nthe country's unity, existence and glory,\" Habibie said in the
\nconferment decree dated Aug. 6.<\/p>\n
He also presented the second highest medal, the Mahaputra, to
\n30 prominent figures, including government critics Abdurrahman
\nWahid and Amien Rais, who did not attend the ceremony, Habibie's
\nbrother Junus Effendy Habibie, Armed Forces Commander Gen.
\nWiranto and a critic of former president Soeharto, H.M.
\nSanusi.<\/p>\n
What was surprising to some was the fact that Habibie has so
\nfar done nothing to honor those who have popularly been
\nconsidered the heroes of Reformasi, the four Trisakti University
\nstudents who were murdered on May 12; an event which sparked the
\nriots that eventually led to Soeharto's downfall.<\/p>\n
It seems that those young heroes have already been forgotten.
\nMany of us no longer remember their names. Fortunately Trisakti
\nUniversity is making great efforts to immortalize them in the
\nform of a monument dedicated to their struggle. Whether or not
\nthey will be officially regarded as the heroes of reformasi by
\nthe government remain to be seen.<\/p>\n
Be that as it may, as mentioned above, the study of history
\nhas focused on important individuals (usually men) and events. In
\ndoing so, these studies have offered little scholarship about
\ncommon people who comprise the rest of the population, who
\ncertainly also played their part in the shaping of history.<\/p>\n
However, in the 1950s what is now known as new social history,
\nthe study that is geared toward the interpretation of the lives
\nof the common people, began to emerge. With a new focus on the
\nstudy of material culture, archaeology, and oral history, the new
\nhistoriography delved into the lifestyles and mind frames of
\ncommon people.<\/p>\n
This changed the way history was viewed. Scholars came to
\nrealize that women, ethnic communities, labor groups, youth
\norganizations and students, who previously were considered
\nmarginal vis-a-vis the central development of history, were in
\nfact significant collaborators in the shaping of history. They
\nall took part in determining how society, politics and economy
\nprogressed.<\/p>\n
We all know that what we consider today as the official
\nhistory of Indonesia includes the biases of the New Order. We
\nhave been led to accept Soeharto's leadership with Sukarno's
\nsubmission of the Supersemar upon him. Then we were indoctrinated
\nto accept the government's version regarding the G30S\/Indonesian
\nCommunist Party's abortive coup of 1965 through what is written
\nin the history books, the diorama exhibition at the museum at
\nLubang Buaya, and the annual broadcast on all television
\nstations and village theaters of a specially commissioned full-
\nlength feature film about the event.<\/p>\n
After the fall of Soeharto, a few witnesses have come forward
\nto testify that what we have considered history is not how it
\nreally happened, confirming people's skepticism about the New
\nOrder version of history. Now people are not only questioning
\nwhether Sukarno submitted the Supersemar voluntarily or at
\ngunpoint, but even starting to talk about the possibility of
\nSoeharto's involvement in the 1965 attempted coup. Some people
\nare even questioning his heroic role as the mastermind and leader
\nof the successful surprise attack on Dutch-occupied Yogyakarta --
\nthen the Indonesian capital -- in 1949.<\/p>\n
All the above shows that our subjective biases shape how
\nhistory is written and determines who we consider our heroes.
\nHopefully, the four Trisakti University students who were killed
\nduring the struggle to end the Soeharto regime will receive the
\nhonor they deserve on this year's National Heroes Day. If they do
\nnot receive an official tribute from the government, then let
\nthose of us who think that they deserve a hero's distinction have
\na moment of silence in their honor on that day.<\/p>\n
After all, National Heroes Day is meant to honor all the dead
\npeople who have made a significant contribution to the country.
\nThe government may have their official version of who they
\nconsider heroes. However, everyone has their own heroes. Let each
\nof us commemorate our own heroes on Nov. 10.<\/p>",
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