Student activism '77/78 revisited

Menentang Tirani, Aksi Mahasiswa '77/78 (Against Tyranny, Student Activism of '77/'78); Edy Budiyarso; Grasindo, Jakarta 2000; Paperback 354 pp

MELBOURNE (JP): In a private conversation, Arief Budiman, sociologist and political observer, once said that he regarded student activists as one of the most selfless groups fighting for justice.

"They fight without expecting personal rewards. They sacrifice themselves for the good of the majority," Arief said.

Arief was speaking of student activism in general. A number of books and articles have been published on the student activism of 1966, 1974 to 1978, and the current period. Books and other writings of past and current activism are not only valuable historical records, but also useful for checking how many activists, who began with idealistic views, were eventually co- opted into the power.

Of course, there is always the perennial question: have they been co-opted, or have they merely realized that the best way to effect change is to work from the inside?

While these writings do not offer answers, they are nonetheless important as windows to a bigger picture, the way the authorities saw and reacted to the students' demands and subsequently came down heavily on the students themselves. This, in turn, opens new windows into the workings of the government at the time, such as who fed specific information to the decision- makers, and who these decision-makers were.

Reading Edy Budiyarso's Menentang Tirani, Aksi Mahasiswa '77/'78 is like opening a portal into the time of Soeharto's government when, on the one hand, some segments of Indonesian society were beginning to see stability and, on the other, different segments saw that the stability was held together by brute force and opacity. The student activism portrayed in the book was a result of the growing disquiet and discontent of the latter.

As no historical accounts can be completely unbiased, the fact that Budiyarso only focused on the students, their activities and their declared motives, can be seen as the writer's bias.

Budiyarso's "camera" hardly leaves the students, whom it follows into dark places like the underground cells where some of them were detained for an inordinate length of time, disproportionate to their alleged "crimes". And as such, the reader is inevitably and justifiably touched by the incredible courage of those activists, who practically surrender months, even years, of their lives to their cause.

However, Budiyarso's strong point here is his thorough research. Thus, while the reader follows Budiyarso's "camera" filming mostly up-close and personal images of the activists' struggle and tribulations, the reader also sees the bigger picture which encompasses other players as well, because the camera pans out, from time to time, to panoramic scenes.

The reader sees how the military intelligence at the time overloaded all state institutions, and how their draconian ways of thinking, a product of their paranoia, made them see the student activists more as enemies of the state rather than spirited youth seeking better conditions for their country.

It is somewhat heartening to discover that there were some in the military who did not share this attitude entirely, though they tended to be ignored or pushed aside. The book even has a chapter by now retired Lieutenant General Himawan Soetanto, who recounted the dilemma he faced in his position as the Commander of Siliwangi Regional Command in West Java.

Himawan, while not siding with the students, showed some reservations about the way they were treated and was regarded with suspicion by his superiors as a consequence.

It is also encouraging to read that some vice-chancellors, deans and lecturers openly sympathized with the students despite the risk to their persons, their families and their careers.

One aspect which stands out all through the book, unfortunately, is the students' lack of focus beyond dismantling Soeharto. This has proven to be a weakness common in all student movements so far.

It is true that as moral watchdogs -- a role they claimed and assumed, their main task was to highlight places in the government where the rot had set in and try to see that this was eliminated. However, in reality, this kind of role would only be effective if it were linked with agencies who could provide more efficient remedies.

Unfortunately also, as moral watchdogs they were not completely free of egocentrism and tribalism, which revealed a gaping hole which the oppressors entered and left them fragmented and significantly weakened.

Considering that the power against which they were fighting was so prevalent and encompassing, one can only admire their extreme courage and determination, unless of course, in their fervor, they did not even realize what kind of adversary they had, and the extent of risk and danger they were facing.

Menentang Tirani, Aksi Mahasiswa '77/'78 breathes inspiration and pathos at the same time. Inspiring because it tells of a true story of bravery. Pathos because, looking back, it is clear there would be no victory at the end of the struggle.

Let there always be such bravery, as there is no shortage of boring cynics in the world.

-- Dewi Anggraeni