Megawati Inaugurates Kudatuli Monument

PDI Perjuangan (PDIP) Chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri inaugurated the Kudatuli Monument as a tribute to the victims of the 27 July 1996 incident at the party’s central executive board (DPP) office in Jakarta on Monday (27/7). Megawati was accompanied by PDIP DPP Chairman Prananda Prabowo during the flower-scattering ceremony. Also in attendance were Meutia Hatta and Halida Hatta, daughters of Indonesia’s first Vice President Mohammad Hatta, alongside sculptor Dolorosa Sinaga and PDIP Secretary-General Hasto Kristiyanto.

The Kudatuli Monument, situated in front of the DPP PDIP office, depicts a female figure appearing to embrace five other figures. In her speech, Megawati expressed gratitude to the artist who created the monument. ‘I would like to extend special thanks to the artist I know and admire. I call her Mbak Dolorosa Sinaga, who has beautifully depicted what I have been contemplating all this time,’ Megawati said.

According to her, the monument is not merely stone and metal, but a symbol of struggle born from deep reflection. ‘I always pray, asking Allah SWT, when will the state of the Republic of Indonesia, envisioned by my father as an independent, prosperous nation where its people live in welfare, safety, and peace, come to an end,’ she stated. Megawati explained that the monument commemorating the Kudatuli incident embodies a revolutionary patience born from conviction, steadfastness, and courage. ‘In my contemplation, I see my own life summarised into words: that if we believe in life and know what our belief is for, then we must have steadfastness and courage. After that, in carrying it out, we must never give up. Therefore, we must have revolutionary patience,’ she said.