PDIP Pushes for Kudatuli Incident to Be Recognised as Gross Human Rights Violation

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) held a ceremony to inaugurate the Kudatuli Monument, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the Kudatuli incident at the PDIP Central Executive Board (DPP) office in Central Jakarta on Monday, 27 July 2026. Head of the DPP PDIP History Division, Bonnie Triyana, stated that one of the aims of the commemoration is to push for the 27 July incident to be recognised as a gross human rights violation. The reason, he said, is that the victims and their families have yet to receive justice. “For decades, the victims and their families have not only lost family members, but also their right to justice,” Bonnie said at the DPP PDIP office in Central Jakarta on Monday. According to him, state recognition is not merely a legal classification, but a form of the state’s presence in acknowledging the suffering of the victims. The commemoration also affirms that political differences should not be met with violence. Bonnie assessed that the passage of 30 years does not guarantee that the historical event is truly resolved. Moreover, for him, the Kudatuli incident was a crucial point in the enforcement of democracy in Indonesia. “It is not just a dark record of an attack on a party office, but a crucial momentum that sparked the upholding of democracy in Indonesia,” Bonnie said. Therefore, this event must continue to be understood, remembered, and resolved fairly. Prior to this commemoration, Bonnie said the committee had held various activities. “This series of events is designed as a cultural and public education space, as well as a space of struggle to maintain the nation’s collective memory so that historical discontinuity does not occur,” he said. These included an art and democracy discussion in Yogyakarta, a discussion on Marhaenism at the Multatuli Museum, and a public lecture bringing together historians, cultural figures, and students to dissect Kudatuli from a democratic perspective through a photo and historical archive exhibition at Taman Ismail Marzuki. The commemoration was attended by PDIP Chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri, Secretary General Hasto Kristiyanto, Head of the Situation Room M. Prananda Prabowo, DPP Chair Ganjar Pranowo, DPP Chair for Disaster Management Tri Rismaharini, DPP Chair Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, DPP Chair for Ideology and Cadre Development Djarot Saiful Hidayat, and Mahfud MD.