Student activism '77/78 revisited

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