Missing poet named the recipient of rights award<\/p>\n
Debbie A. Lubis, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Wiji Thukul, a critical poet who has been missing for almost five
\nyears and was declared as a person \"forced to disappear\" by the
\nCommission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras)
\ntwo and a half years ago, has been named as the recipient of the
\nYap Thiam Hien Award -- a human rights award -- for 2002.<\/p>\n
The adjudicators of the award, comprising noted legal experts,
\neducators, human rights activists, and sociologists, said on
\nTuesday that the award was given to Wiji not because he had been
\nmissing since February 1998, when demands for reforms and regime
\nchange nearly reached their peak in May 1998, but because of his
\nstruggle to defend human rights in the country.<\/p>\n
\"Even if he was not missing, he deserved to be awarded,\" said
\nAsmara Nababan, one of the voters.<\/p>\n
Asmara, who is also former secretary general of the National
\nCommission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), added that the award
\nshould be a strong reminder to Indonesians that these
\ndisappearances were still rampant in the country.<\/p>\n
\"The award also reminds us that we still owe the family,
\nfriends, and loved ones of those who have been taken by force in
\nthis country. And the state, especially the government, bears the
\ngreatest responsibility,\" Asmara said in a media briefing.<\/p>\n
Born in a poor family in Solo, Central Java, Wiji Thukul,
\nwhose real name is Wiji Widodo, was put in jail several times
\nduring Soeharto's authoritarian regime.<\/p>\n
Beaten with the butt of a rifle during a labor rally left him
\nwith only the use of his right eye.<\/p>\n
Wiji recited his poems to poor people, laborers in urban areas
\nand plantations, as well as farmers, villagers, and university
\nstudents.<\/p>\n
\"He never recited any conventions, standards, or other
\ninstruments on the promotion of human rights. Instead, he taught
\nmarginalized people to fight for their rights that have been
\nrobbed by a tyrannical regime through his simple, understandable,
\nand crystal-clear poems,\" the adjudicators said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Wiji had to move from one town to another as the military
\npursued him over an absurd accusation that he was a perpetrator
\nin the July 27, 1996 incident, when a government-backed party
\nfaction forcefully took over the headquarters of the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party (PDI) that was still occupied by loyal
\nsupporters of Megawati Soekarnoputri.<\/p>\n
The last time he contacted his wife and two children was in
\nFebruary 1998, when he promised with trembling voice he would
\ncome home to celebrate Idul Fitri that year. He never showed up.<\/p>\n
\"Wiji is a humble man who is able to express the norms and
\ncommitment to human rights. It would not surprise me if he had
\nbecome a professor or a legal expert but this freedom of
\nexpression comes from being the son of a pedicab driver who
\ndropped out of senior high school. We need lots more people like
\nhim who are aware of their rights,\" Azyumardi Azra told the Post.<\/p>\n
Wiji attended many rallies and strikes for laborers and
\nfarmers' welfare across Java. He received the Weirthem Encourage
\nAward in 1991.<\/p>\n
Wiji's modesty was expressed in his interview with a
\nliterary magazine in 1994. He said: \"I don't want to be
\nrecognized as a hero because of my efforts to fight for the
\nrights of the poor. Really, I just speak for myself. Look at me,
\nI am only a carpenter, my wife is a seamstress, my father is a
\npedicab driver, my father-in-law sells second-hand goods, and I'm
\nsurrounded by poor people.\"<\/p>\n
Noted lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis said the Yap Thiam Hien award
\nhas been given to human rights defenders every year since 1992.<\/p>\n
\"It is for the people who are not only are involved in
\ndemonstrations, strikes, or court battles but also those from the
\nworld of intellectual pursuits, that make efforts for the
\nbetterment of human rights conditions in this country,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Before he disappeared, before Soeharto was deposed, Wiji
\npenned this poem.
\nAs cruel as Nero,
\nAs fascistic as Hitler,
\nSo sly, so deceitful,
\nHe toys with Democracy,
\nHuman rights are interpreted as he wishes,
\nSwallow our gold our forest our lives,
\nHow many more buckets of blood will you drink?<\/p>",
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