Hasto: Kudatuli Monument Symbolises Megawati Embracing Victims, Seeking Justice

PDI Perjuangan Chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri has inaugurated a monument to the 27 July 1996 riots (Kudatuli) to mark 30 years since the dark tragedy occurred. PDIP Secretary-General Hasto Kristiyanto said the monument stands as a symbol of the victims’ hope for justice, which remains unfulfilled.

“This monument depicts how, after 30 years, the hope for justice has turned out not to be present,” said Hasto at the PDIP Central Executive Board office in Menteng, Central Jakarta, on Monday (27/7/2026).

Hasto explained that the monument depicts a woman shown screaming. As she screams, the woman also embraces five other figures who are bowed down.

Hasto said the five bowed figures represent a form of hope — hope concerning the search for other victims who disappeared during the Kudatuli events.

“So, in the bowed heads of the victims awaiting a ray of hope for those who were made to disappear by the regime,” Hasto said.

Hasto also noted that one figure who disappeared and remains linked to the Kudatuli events is the activist famed for his critical verses, Wiji Thukul. He explained that Wiji Thukul vanished during the first anniversary commemoration of the Kudatuli events.

“During the one-year commemoration of Kudatuli, Wiji Thukul, who was present at the commemoration, was subsequently abducted, and to this day his fate remains unknown,” he added.

Hasto went on to explain that the Kudatuli monument is akin to Megawati embracing the victims of the bloody tragedy. Megawati, as a motherly figure, seeks to pray to the heavens in the hope that the victims may obtain justice.

“In the bowed heads of those victims, Mother Mega embraces them. It depicts Mother Pertiwi, with her love for all the children of the nation, embracing the victims, then gazing towards the sky, offering a prayer, and at the same time crying out a plea that the light of justice may illuminate the Indonesian nation,” Hasto explained.

Then, according to Hasto, at the four corners of the monument stand eternal torches. These four torches represent conviction in politics, steadfastness, courage and revolutionary patience, symbolising the certainty that truth shall prevail — Satyam Eva Jayate.

Megawati Inaugurates the Kudatuli Monument

The Kudatuli statue monument was inaugurated by Megawati today, in observance of the 30th anniversary of the Kudatuli tragedy. The monument stands directly in front of the PDI Perjuangan Central Executive Board office in Menteng, Central Jakarta.

Megawati explained that the Kudatuli monument is the result of her own contemplation. That contemplation was about commemorating the ideals of her father, Bung Karno, when he brought Indonesia its independence.

Megawati said the monument depicts revolutionary patience, born of conviction, steadfastness and courage.

In her contemplation, Megawati said she reflected upon her own life. From there, she distilled it into words, which were then given form as the Kudatuli statue.

“If we are convinced in life and then know what our conviction is for, we must have steadfastness and courage. After that, in carrying it out, we must never despair. That is why we must have revolutionary patience,” she explained.