PDIP Secretary General Reveals Megawati's Message on the 27 July Riot
Secretary General of PDI Perjuangan, Hasto Kristiyanto, has revealed a message from the fifth President of Indonesia and PDIP Chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri regarding the 27 July 1996 riots (Kudatuli). Hasto said Megawati’s message was that democracy requires a free press and law enforcement that is not selective.
“Democracy requires a free press, good political education and a healthy democratic life, as well as truly just laws — laws that are not selectively enforced,” Hasto told journalists at Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM), Central Jakarta, on Tuesday (21/7/2026).
Hasto said Megawati’s message was that democracy must strengthen political character. Megawati also conveyed that citizens must be able to freely associate, gather and express their aspirations.
“Democracy must live in the light of humanity, fight for truth, and strengthen a political character that fights so that the people can truly convey all their wishes freely — to associate, to gather, and to express their aspirations,” he said.
Megawati, Hasto said, also cautioned that politics must not give rise to slander.
“Ibu Mega also reminded us how politics is often noisy due to various attempts at discrediting others, including personal aspects — this must be avoided, and politics must not involve slander,” he said.
For context, Kudatuli was an act of violence that took place at the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) office. It occurred specifically at the PDI Perjuangan Central Executive Board Secretariat in Menteng, Central Jakarta, on Saturday, 27 July 1996.
According to Komnas HAM, the Kudatuli incident was allegedly triggered by a struggle for control of the PDI office between the camp of Megawati Soekarnoputri and that of Soerjadi. However, many parties felt there were irregularities in this principal cause.
Based on the findings of the Komnas HAM investigation, there were 5 fatalities, 149 injured, and 23 people missing. Material losses were estimated at up to Rp 100 billion.