New order's black pages in history<\/p>\n
Tanjung Priok Berdarah, Tanggung Jawab Siapa? Kumpulan Fakta dan
\nData (Bloody Tanjung Priok, Whose Responsibility? Compilation of
\nFacts and Data); By Pusat Studi dan Pengembangan Informasi, Partai
\nBulan Bintang (Center for Information Studies and Development of
\nthe Crescent Star Party); Gema Insani Press, Jakarta, September,
\n1998; 167 pages; Rp 11,750<\/p>\n
YOGYAKARTA (JP): Black pages of history characterize the peak
\nof the New Order regime. One of those pages that has remained a
\nmystery is the Tanjung Priok incident of Sept. 12, 1984. The
\nincident, which occurred 15 years ago, was a human rights
\nviolation committed by the regime.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has now entered the era of reform, an era of
\nimprovement regarding the life of the nation and the state. Will
\nthe Tanjung Priok incident, which caused the death of hundreds of
\nMuslims, remain shrouded? Will the people involved in the case --
\nespecially the brains behind the incident -- remain at liberty
\nand not be made accountable?<\/p>\n
Based on facts and data of eyewitnesses and documents, this
\nbook has a clear purpose -- to lift the dark shadow of New Order
\nhistory.<\/p>\n
This book is significant in three respects. First, there is no
\nadequate report on the Tanjung Priok incident. At the most, the
\npublic received information from newspapers, magazines and
\ncirculars. Second, due to the paucity of information available,
\npeople have no knowledge of the incident as a whole. There is
\nonly the government's unilateral version on the facts, and it is
\ncontrary to the reality. Third, this book is published in the
\nreform era, so hopefully it will prod the Reform Government to
\nopen and investigate as soon as possible this black page of New
\nOrder history.<\/p>\n
The book provides information for the reader on what really
\ntriggered the Tanjung Priok tragedy, and why the victims were
\nMuslims.<\/p>\n
Comprised of seven chapters, the text is organized into two
\nbig themes: first, the arrogance of the New Order government to
\nrule with limitless power. Second, the way the Islamic community
\nis viewed with suspicion and intimidated. These two themes that
\nexplain the background of the bloody incident.<\/p>\n
This book says the beginning of the incident cannot be
\nseparated from the social, economic and political conditions of
\nthe 1980s. The New Order government tried with all its might to
\ndivest and alienate Islamic mass organizations and political
\nparties from the root of their ideology. Such an ideology was
\nconsidered a rival to the government.<\/p>\n
New Order policies, such as the application of the Pancasila
\nphilosophy as the sole principle, often disagreed with and tended
\nto be contrary to views expressed by mass Islamic organizations
\nand political organizations, which at the time were represented
\nby the United Development Party. The application of the single
\nprinciple in 1983 provoked the Islamic community. The community
\nviewed the policy as an effort to uproot Islamic groups from
\ntheir ideology, so that the government party, Golkar, would
\nalways win at the polls.<\/p>\n
From the 1970s, political upheavals, sharpened by the efforts
\nto strip ideology from Islamic groups in 1983, provided the
\nbackground for the eruption of the bloody incident.<\/p>\n
Systematic engineering by the New Order government attained
\nmomentum when the intelligence apparatus succeeded in provoking
\nMuslims. The government had prepared these conditions for a long
\ntime.<\/p>\n
On Sept. 12, 1984, Sgt. Hermanu entered the as-Sa'adah
\nmusholla (prayer room) without taking off his shoes. He then
\npoured sewerage water over a recitation class notice on the wall.
\nProvoked by the action, the people became angry. A third party
\nthen set fire to Hermanu's motorcycle. The scheme was accompanied
\nby the arrest of four innocent community members, who were
\naccused by the security apparatus of aggravating the matter.
\nRealizing the \"odd\" situation, Amir Biki, who was leading the
\nrecitation class, demanded the release of the four suspected of
\ntorching the motorcycle. The situation became increasingly tense,
\nwhen there was no sign of their release. Finally, riots on the
\nsame evening proved the success of the security apparatus to
\nplace Muslims in a marginal position.<\/p>\n
After the demise of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), the
\nIslamic community was accused as the majority group most
\ndangerous toward the state. It was at this juncture that Islam
\nwas put into a corner of suspicion and intimidation.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of Muslims were killed when the apparatus selected
\nviolence as their only language. However, in order to cover up
\nthe savagery of the New Order regime, the government informed the
\npublic that the riots had led to the death of nine Muslims and
\nthe injury of 53. The spokespersons were then Armed Forces
\nCommander L.B. Moerdani, then Jakarta Military District Commander
\nTry Sutrisno, then Minister of Information Harmoko and then
\nJakarta Police chief Soedjoko.<\/p>\n
The unilateral explanation provided by the security apparatus
\nprovoked an emphatic reaction from a number of public figures,
\nsuch as Ali Sadikin and his friends. Finally a \"White Page\" was
\npublished explaining that the incident had been engineered, and
\nwas a \"tragedy on a tragedy\".<\/p>\n
This collection of facts and data is an endeavor to enforce
\nhuman rights and justice in a nondiscriminatory manner. The book
\nis a concrete listing of demands addressed to the Reform Order
\ngovernment. The book challenges the government to uncover the
\nblack page in the history of the New Order and sue those involved
\nin the incident, without exception, including former president
\nSoeharto.<\/p>\n
-- M. Ilham Akbar Mahardika<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/new-orders-black-pages-in-history-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }