'We're proud to be the children of GAM rebels'
'We're proud to be the children of GAM rebels'
Kornelius Purba, Staff Writer, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta,
korpur@yahoo.com
Ribka Tjiptaning Prolotariyati shocked many of the elite and
angered Vice President Hamzah Haz in October last year when she
launched her controversial book Aku Bangga Jadi Anak PKI (I'm
proud to be the child of the Indonesian Communist Party).
In the book -- with a preface from former president
Abdurrahman Wahid-- she wrote, "When the New Order was still very
repressive, everyone felt disgusted and paranoid to be near me,
and they even felt allergic, as if I were more contemptible than
an HIV/AIDS carrier, but I was never afraid."
Hundreds of thousands of people were reportedly killed -- some
even put the number at millions -- in the Sept. 30 aborted coup
attempt. About the same number of people were jailed for their
alleged membership of the Communist Party and their descendants
became victims of the government's political brutality.
Most could not enter military service or work as civil
servants simply because their parents, uncle, or a relative had
been branded as PKI members. During Soeharto's regime, their
movement was closely monitored, and they lived like pariahs.
They were placed under tightly monitored spotlights and firm
screening was imposed on Indonesians for all government
positions. However, until now the national tragedy remains a dark
chapter. History textbooks, with alternative versions on the
September 1965 incident and its aftermath to that taught under
the New Order, have yet to be completed.
Abdurrahman's appeal to honestly restudy the national
slaughter was responded to with rage from people who still
believe communists are devils, although even in China such a
belief has sharply eroded.
Ribka is very likely the only person in this country to have
the courage to openly reveal not only her identity, but also
openly express her pride for her father's political beliefs.
At present, the government is literally repeating the Soeharto
era's pitiless screening practices and old habit of the
intelligence service to spy on citizens. We have often seen on
television how villagers in Aceh are required to pledge their
loyalty in ceremonies to the Unitary State of Indonesia (NKRI).
Footage on one private TV channel showed how Indonesian
Military (TNI) soldiers interrogated youths during a house-to-
house raid in an attempt to capture GAM commander Muzakir Manaf.
Civil servants in Aceh are also subject to interrogation to
check their allegiance to the state, although the government
later insisted that all Indonesian civil servants will also
undergo the same screening. But how can the government find out
what people might really be thinking? The easiest way to find
traces of GAM among government officials is by tracing their
extended family -- if not parents -- then brothers or sisters,
uncles, aunts or even grandfathers, or perhaps illicit lovers.
The list is without limit. The results are prone to abuse, and
can be used to intimidate, blackmail or even to harass anyone
just because of their perceived link to GAM. For their own
safety, it is common in Aceh for many officials to keep good
relations with GAM, and businessmen regularly provide funds for
GAM -- as well as Military or police personnel, in the name of
"brotherhood".
In East Jakarta, several churchgoers proudly revealed that
they were told by their priest to abide by Jakarta Governor
Sutiyoso's instruction to monitor the activities of their
Acehnese neighbors. They vowed to carry out the noble duty to spy
on their devout Acehnese Muslim neighbors. Would Sutiyoso do the
same thing, if one of his beloved children married an Acehnese?
Why we are so paranoid at our Acehnese compatriots, although
only thousands of the 4.2 million Aceh population belong to GAM?
Realize it or not, we have stigmatized all Acehnese, saying, in
effect, that they are all GAM members or supporters. The paranoia
may be linked to the words of one senior advisor to President
Megawati Soekarnoputri: "Most Acehnese people would likely vote
for independence if a referendum were held in the province now."
No doubt the government is obliged to protect the country's
territorial integrity. The government's resolute attitude toward
any possible rebellion has sent a strong warning to anyone
contemplating the destabilization of the country, and clearly it
has forced rebels in Papua, Maluku or anywhere else to think
twice before resorting to force. The harsh attitude has also
built up the government's own self-confidence. Even students who
want to burn Megawati's picture must imagine the consequences --
spending nights in jail.
Hopefully, we will remember that the practice of forcing
citizens to pledge their obedience in public to the state --
actually meaning the ruling government -- can only be found in
authoritarian states. Who can know exactly what people really
think of their government?
By harassing the Acehnese we can only expect deeper revenge.
They want justice enforced, as repeatedly promised by the
government. TNI generals are right in saying that the human
rights of their soldiers should also be respected. Also, GAM
rebels often act more brutally than TNI soldiers.
We respect TNI soldiers who are ready to sacrifice their lives
in action against the enemies of NKRI. We may feel upset at the
statement by GAM official T. Kamaruzzaman, who described
Indonesian soldiers as going to war in Aceh, not because they
loved their country so much, but because they were paid for it.
But how can Acehnese be convinced that true justice will be
upheld, given the views of officials, as reflected in one of
their statements: "If you talk about human rights abuses, why not
just start with investigations into alleged atrocities since the
time of the Prophet Adam?"
The nation is responsible for the lives of innocent people,
who are mistakenly identified as GAM members or supporters. If
stigmatization of the Acehnese continues, it is likely to be only
a matter of time before thousands of Acehnese youths follow in
the steps of Ribka and declare, "We are proud to be the children
of GAM rebels."