Salsabilla Azzahra Octavia, Nurhadi, Jakarta – This year, Kamisan (Thursday) actions have entered their 18th year. The actions, which are held every Thursday in front of the State Palace in Central Jakarta, have consistently demanded that the state resolve cases of gross human rights violations in Indonesia.
The first Kamisan action was held on January 18, 2007, as a form of protest by the families of the victims of the 1965 tragedy, the Semanggi I, Semanggi II and Trisakti student shootings in 1997-98, the May 13-15, 1998 tragedy in Jakarta, the 1989 Talangsari massacre in Lampung, the 1984 Tanjung Priok killings in North Jakarta and the 2004 assassination of renowned human rights defender Munir Said Thalib.
The three family members of victims of human rights violations, namely Maria Katarina Sumarsih, Suciwati and Bedjo Untung, who were members of the Solidarity Network for the Families of Victims (JSKK), were looking for alternative activities as a means of struggle which eventually became known as Kamisan actions.
As time went by, with the many victims of serious human rights violations in Indonesia, more and more people joined and gave their support to the Kamisan actions.
Wearing all black clothing while carrying black umbrellas, their enthusiasm to continue calling for justice never faded.
Now, Kamisan actions are held in various regions to enlarge the space for the community to voice their hopes for a full resolution to human rights violations. Kamisan actions are also a space to demand justice for victims of other human rights violations, such as land evictions, agrarian conflicts and acts of violence by security forces against civilians.
Sumarsih, as one of the initiators of the Kamisan actions who has been the most faithful in attending the actions every Thursday, admitted that her extraordinary stamina came after her grief that was transformed into love.
"I loved Wawan. After Wawan was shot, I loved my fellow victims and the families of the victims who suffered by fighting for all the cases of gross human rights violations", Sumarsih told Tempo at her home in the Meruya area of West Jakarta on Monday December 16, 2024.
Sumarsih is the mother of Bernardinus Realino Norma Irmawan or Wawan, a student from the Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia in Jakarta who was shot dead on November 13, 1998. The incident, which is known as the Semanggi I tragedy, occurred amidst the wave of student protests after former President Suharto stepped down.
Suciwati, the wife of the late human rights activist Munir Said Thalib, said that consistency is needed to keep the Kamisan actions running for dozens of years. "Some fade out, but were reborn or new people appeared. Because the dynamics are diverse, [it depends on] how strong they are in facing those dynamics", she said on Thursday December 12, 2024.
Suciwati conceded that several times she and Sumarsih felt tired of calling for justice and advocating for the oppressed and criminalised people. But many people from various backgrounds gave them encouragement to keep the actions going. "It was quite surprising because it turned out that some had heard our voices."
– Yolanda Agne, Hendrik Khoirul Muhid and Arkhelaus Wisnu Triyogo contributed to writing this article.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Cerita Keluarga Korban Pelanggaran HAM Berat Merawat Aksi Kamisan hingga Memasuki Tahun ke-18".]
