Sultan Abdurrahman, Jakarta – Two elite officials from the Greater Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) have met with activists and family members of victims of the abduction of pro-democracy activists and riots in Jakarta in 1997-98.
The two politicians from the party led by president elect Prabowo Subianto were Gerindra Central Leadership Board (DPP) Executive Director Sufmi Dasco Ahmad and Gerindra Deputy Chairperson Habiburokhman. The meeting has been criticised by 1998 activists and the families of the victims.
The younger brother of Wiji Thukul, Wahyu Susilo, said the meeting did not make sense. Susilo's older brother Thukul was a People's Democratic Party (PRD) activist and poet who was forcibly disappeared in 1998 and remains missing to this day.
Susilo stated that he did not receive any information about the meeting until it had already taken place. "Because the meeting did indeed not make any sense, discussing the issue of reconciliation with Prabowo", said Susilo in a voice message received on Monday August 5.
Prabowo is a former TNI (Indonesian military) officer who was involved in the abduction of pro-activists in 1997-98 and was dismissed from the Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI), now the TNI, three months after the Indonesia's second president Suharto stepped down, in August 1998.
At that time, Prabowo was found guilty and proven to have committed several deviations and errors, including the 1997-98 abductions.
According to Susilo, the families of these who were disappeared during that period have remained consistent in demanding Prabowo be held accountable for his involvement in the enforced disappearances. "So the meeting was only a manoeuvre, it did not represent a meeting with the families of the missing activists", said Susilo.
98 activist and former PRD secretary general Petrus Hariyanto also criticised the meeting. According to Hariyanto, the meeting was just a formality carried out by the Gerindra Party ahead of Prabowo's inauguration in October.
"I think that before being inaugurated, Prabowo is trying to do a clean-up operation", said Hariyanto via a text message on Monday.
They way Prabowo is trying to clean himself up, according to Hariyanto, is by approaching the victim's families and some of the abducted activists. Hariyanto also said that the meeting was held very suddenly. He also considers that the meeting did not represent the position of activists and the families of victims.
Neither Hariyanto nor Susilo attended the meeting with Ahmad and Habiburokhman.
Earlier, Ahmad uploaded the photograph of the meeting with the activists and the victims' families on his Instagram account on Sunday August 4. According to Ahmad, the meeting was a silaturahmi (friendly get together).
"Gathering with the families of missing persons in 98 and 98 activists", Ahmad said in a written statement on Monday.
Ahmad claimed the activists and the families of the 98 victims he met now agree to support Indonesia's advancement. "Everyone agreed to support Indonesia's advancement and also prayed for Pak [Mr] Prabowo to be healthy well", said Ahmad.
In the photograph of the meeting uploaded to his account, Ahmad and Habiburokhman are pictured together in a room with 24 other people. Ahmad also pinned at least 14 names of the people in the photograph. Here are the names pinned in Ahmad's upload:
1. Fitriwani (Wiji Thukul's daughter)
2. Family of 98 activist Aan Rusdianto
3. Ibu (Mrs) Heni (Herman Hermawan's sister, 98 activist)
4. Ibu Hera (Hermawan's second sister)
5. Ibu Fatah (Gilang's mother, 98 activist)
6. Aan Rusdianto (98 activist)
7. Pak (Mr) Utomo (Bimo Petrus' father, 98 activist)
8. Hakim (Dedi Hamidun's son, 97 activist)
9. Suyadi (Suyat's elder brother, 98 activist)
10. Paiyan Siahaan (Ucok Siahaan's father, May 98 activist)
11. Mugiyanto's father
12. Mugiyanto (98 activist)
13. Nina (Yadin's younger sister, May 98 activist)
14. Navila (Nova Alkatiri's daughter, 97 activist)
Tempo attempted to contact the names cited by Ahmad. One of them, namely Paian Siahaan, has been contacted via text message but has not responded to questions about the meeting as of this report being written.
Notes
Between 1997 and 1998 as many as 23 pro-democracy activists were abducted by members of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus). After extended periods of detention – in many cases the victims were severely tortured – most were released although 13 remain missing and are presumed dead. Former Kopassus commander Lieutenant General Prabowo Subianto who was at the time President Suharto's son-in-law, has admitted to ordering the abductions but denies ordering their torture and claims they were all released alive and well. Prabowo was subsequently discharged from the military for ordering the abductions but has never been tried in court. Prabowo has also been linked to the May 1998 anti-Chinese riots in Jakarta that saw hundreds of ethnic Chinese women raped and left more than a thousand people dead or missing.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Adik Wiji Thukul dan Eks Sekjen PRD Kritik Pertemuan Orang Dekat Prabowo dengan Aktivis-Keluarga Korban 98".]
