Ratna questions artists' sensitivity

By T. Sima Gunawan

JAKARTA (JP): Playwright Ratna Sarumpaet had promised she would never cry when police arrested her for organizing a public meeting without their permission.

But she couldn't keep her promise. She burst into tears upon seeing TV reports of the fatal shooting of four Trisakti University students during a demonstration on May 12.

At the same time, the students' ardor to fight for reform soothed her anguish because both Ratna and the students have something in common: they want democracy.

Ratna, the leader of Satu Merah Panggung theater group, is also founder of the prodemocracy alliance Siaga, which stands for Solidaritas Indonesia Untuk Amien dan Mega or the Indonesian Solidarity for (opposition leaders) Amien (Rais) and Mega (Megawati Soekarnoputri).

Ratna, seven other activists and her daughter were arrested on March 10 at a seaside bungalow in North Jakarta where they had planned to hold a People's Summit involving government critics and prodemocracy leaders.

On May 20, the day before president Soeharto stepped down, the North Jakarta District Court found her guilty of ignoring a police order and sentenced her to two months and 10 days imprisonment. She was set free the same day because the sentence included time served while in detention.

In an interview Tuesday with The Jakarta Post, Ratna shared her feelings and ideas.

Below are excerpts.

Question: Now that you are free, what is your plan?

Answer: I will appeal to the higher court because I am not guilty.

I was arrested because I led Siaga, which was vocal in its target to bring Soeharto down. Maybe they considered us too vocal. At that time, the demand for reform was not as strong.

But I am sure that I was arrested not because of the meeting but because of my severe criticism, through the scripts that I have written, against the government's poor performance

I know the government and the Armed Forces were angry with me. They had been upset since they banned my performance of Marsinah Menggugat (Marsinah Accuses) in Surabaya, Lampung and Bandung in November and December. Marsinah was a labor activist who was killed in 1993.

I had earlier staged the play in eight other towns, under tight control. Every time I entered a city, the security officers were on alert, as if they were ready to eradicate a virus, as if I was a virus carrier. That really hurt me.

Q: How about your other play?

A: They put pressure on my sponsor. We had been preparing Marsinah, Nyanyian Dari Bawah Tanah (Marsinah, A Song From Underground), for two months when suddenly, three days before the show, the sponsor said they did not have any money. They did not say the real reason, but I knew who I was facing.

Q: How many stories on Marsinah did you write?

A: Two. The first, Marsinah, Nyanyian Dari Bawah Tanah (1994) has been published and the English version is now being published in Australia. I wrote it based on my point of view. Marsinah could be anybody, even a man. Marsinah is a symbol of the underdog. My other story on Marsinah is a monolog, it is based on Marsinah's point of view. But I held the principle of the presumption of innocence.

There are also Terpasung (Chained, 1996) and Pesta Terakhir (The Last Party, 1996).

Q: What made you write critical works?

A: I never had a formal education in theater. I don't know why I am that crazy for theater.

I went to Indonesian Christian University, majoring in architecture. I was smart and my lecturers had great expectations for me. Then I started to think whether I really wanted to be an architect for the rest of my life. That really bothered me. So I took a sabbatical. And I don't know why I ended up in Taman Ismail Marzuki Arts Center. I saw Rendra's Kasidah Berjanji (Kasidah Promises). That was really great. I was stunned.

I returned home and told my father I wanted to quit my studies. He was shocked. My parents did not want to patronize me but they always emphasized that I should be able to do something for society. They left it up to me but they said they would stop their financial support. I said that's fair enough. That was in 1969, I was 18. So, I went to Yogyakarta, where Rendra was living.

I sold my gold earrings, a gift from my parents when I graduated from high school, and rented a sewing machine. I made baby clothes and sold them. But that did not last long because later Rendra allowed me to join his theater group. They gave me food, but I had to take care of his children.

I wrote my first play, Rubayat Omar Khayam, in 1973 and performed it in 1974. Later I also staged Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet. And then for 13 years I was not involved in any theater activity. I had to take care of my children, ...I studied films, I got divorced. ...I started to be active in the theater world again in 1989.

Q: How did your parents influence your life?

A: I was born in Tarutung, North Sumatra, on July 16, 1949. In 1962 we moved to Jakarta because my father, an activist of PRRI- Permesta (a separatist group), was put under house arrest in Kaliurang, Yogyakarta. Both my parents were politicians. We did not ask them about politics but we believed that what they did was right.

My mother published the first women's magazine, Melati, in Tapanuli. She also chaired the Indonesian Christian Women's Organization. I often saw her giving speeches and I liked to imitate her in front of the mirror.

My parents have nine children and I am the fifth. My siblings who are also active in arts and cultural activities are Mutiara Sani (wife of Asrul Sani), Riris Sarumpaet and Sam Sarumpaet.

Q: How about your own family?

A: I have four children. I was divorced 13 years ago. But I have a very good relationship with my ex-husband, who remarried two years ago. Now I have a good friend but I don't really know if this will end in a marriage.

Q: What are your plans for the near future?

A: I have been invited by the Asia Society, Murdoch University, to visit Perth to give lectures in three places.

Pen International (an international writers' organization) and International Women Playwrights have asked me to speak in a panel discussion in August in the United States. The topic is the politics of licensing (for public performances) in Indonesia.

On Monday, I will attend a hearing of our suit against the Lampung Arts Institute, which banned our performance Marsinah Menggugat in Lampung. This is important because our struggle has not stopped with Soeharto's resignation. We have to watch over the authority, we want total reform. Art institutions have to be reformed as well.

Q: Your talk on the politics of licensing in Indonesia -- how do you see it?

A: The authorities have agreed that art performances should not be banned. But why did they ban my show? Because of political interest, which could justify any of their actions. This is what we have to eradicate for the sake of the arts in Indonesia. Arts must be freed from censorship.

Q: What is the role of artists in the reform activities?

A: I question the role of artists. During the transfer of power from Sukarno to Soeharto, artists were articulate. But it's different now. Maybe because they had already been coopted by the government. Of course, there are exceptions, like Goenawan Mohamad, Sitok Srengenge, Agus Wage and several other artists of Teater Utan Kayu.

When I was arrested, Pen International and the International Women Playwrights organized the reading of Marsinah Menggugat, touring several towns in America, Austria and Canada. In June, the play will be performed in the Australian cities of Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.

Indonesian artists did nothing to protest my arrest, except the artists of Teater Utan Kayu.

I wonder why they did not play their role in the reform activities? I gave them the opportunity to do so, with my arrest, but they did not make use of this. We have Pen Indonesia, whose chairman, Rendra, is a playwright. They should know that I was arrested not because of the meeting but because of my writings. Why did they react only after somebody was dead? After the death (of several students), they read poems. They are busy now only after the efforts to gain reform has started to bear fruits.

I am really sad. Why were they late?

If I may say this, reform should start within the artists themselves. For example, in art institutions. Members of art councils should not be selected by the city government, even though the money came from them. Those in the art council must be the artists themselves. In Lampung, chairman of the art council is a city administration official.

For more than 30 years, they (artists) have been coopted. I heard they laughed at me because I was vocal and they said I wanted to become a politician.

Now, artists have to reform. They have to become part of society and feel their problems. Their works must be inspired by problems in society.

Artists are a means of social control.

The strength of artists is their feelings. I wonder where their sensitivity is. Many people have been deprived of their rights. This should have inspired them to create great artworks. But, in general, artworks do not have the spirit of struggle.

I can see how strongly Soeharto's regime had coopted the artists. It has penetrated their brains so that they are afraid their work would offend the government. How could people create great works in such conditions? Artists are happy if they can freely express their feelings; if this could flow in their blood and within themselves.

Q: Do you have any new scripts?

A: After they banned my show in Lampung, I tried to write a script, but... I was traumatized and I have not been able to overcome my grief and anger. So I... set up Siaga, a prodemocracy alliance. But it was the alliance which sent me to jail. During detention, I finished a script. I don't know if I will get a sponsor in this economic situation. But I think it is important to stage the play as a test case to see the government's reaction to critical works.

The play, Sang Raja (Exit The King), is a reprimand so that there will not be a new king in this country.

I also want to perform Marsinah in the three towns which banned my show.

Q: How do you see Habibie as a president?

A: I reject Habibie as a president. He himself has said that Soeharto was his teacher, so they must have the same pattern of thinking. I don't see Habibie's good reputation. His projects do not benefit the people, they even make people suffer.

The question is: Is it realistic to ask Habibie to step down now? Will this solve problems? What we have to do now is to push Habibie for total reform. If we can call him a president, that means that he is a temporary president who should lead to a clean government through all means, including revised laws on politics, etc., to lead us to a democratic election.

And regarding the Armed Forces' role. I want to see a change in their attitude. They used to support Soeharto, they served the authority, and now they say they are behind Habibie.

Wiranto has made many promises, he has to prove them. For example, the actions against those involved in the shooting of the Trisakti students. Who was the mastermind behind this? It's the mastermind who must be put on trial. And also the kidnapping of activists. ABRI has to be able to prove it thoroughly. People are clever, don't underestimate the people.

Q: What is your relation with Amien Rais and Megawati Soekarnoputri?

A: We have moral relations. We are on the same line. I am closer to Amien. He was my first guest when I was hospitalized (during detention). We talked for an hour, discussing what was going on in this country.

About Mega, I think she has disappointed many people. There were opportunities for her to prove her commitment to lead the nation. But she didn't take them. Whatever her reason was, I have the right to be disappointed. Pius Lustrilanang was kidnapped because he was a secretary-general of Siaga.

Siaga stands for Solidaritas Indonesia Untuk Amien dan Mega (who nominated themselves as presidential candidates). We will uphold the name of Siaga (siaga means being alert), but we won't involve either Mega or Amien. Not because I am disappointed with Mega but because I think it is not relevant anymore. Siaga's target was to bring Soeharto down and he has stepped down.

Q: The new government has opened the door for more political parties. Do you have any intention to make Siaga a political party?

A: No way. When I said I would take part in the People's Council (MARA), some people said I wanted to become a minister in Amien's cabinet.

I have no ambition for such a position. What is behind my struggle is purely my concerns. As a human being, I have an obligation to say what is right and what's wrong. Insya Allah (God willing) I can keep my promise.

I was in MARA as an artist. If, later, we are successful in forming a clean government, and we have a president that we all want, I would still be an artist and take my role as part of a means of social control.

Some have said I betrayed art and moved to politics. How could I talk about Marsinah without talking about politics? Marsinah died because of the system. If I am directly involved in the struggle for total reform, that should not necessarily mean that I am in politics.

Anyway, why should we dramatize the word politics? We have been coopted by the government's style by using words as a means of manipulation. That's what Soeharto was good at. He was so clever at manipulating words, which made us speechless. The word constitutional, for example. They used it to legitimize their actions.

Soeharto was very good at choosing his words, until the last minute. Which made us say, "Thank God he stepped down, he is berjiwa besar (big-hearted), lapang dada (broad-chested), wise..." I strongly protest this. Good manners are important but don't let it get out of proportion. Soeharto must be held responsible for what he did. (We demanded that) he must step down because it was what people wanted. We should not say he was big- hearted... Soeharto stepped down but he left us so many problems, including conflicts, among ourselves, among people of different religions and ethnic groups.