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voice of human rights
Related to country: Indonesia

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Voice of Human Rights News Center is already in English! Check out some of our articles:

Bingkai:
Stifling the Voice of the Little Ones
The discussion on the 2008 Election Law has been completed. The road of the small parties is getting steeper and steeper. more


Kisah:
Sucitwati: Four Years of Looking for Justice
The dark clouds that are hanging in the sky that late afternoon do not weaken her spirits. Her feet seem to never get tired from standing in front of the Palace of Independence. Her hands do not let go of the black umbrella with the words "End the Munir Case" written on it. The woman is Suciwati, wife of the late human rights activist Munir. more

Cakrawala:
10 years KontraS: Preserving Freedom, Fighting Violence
"Send our regards to Mr. President." That was the message from the master of ceremony at the 10th anniversary of The Commission for Disappearances and Victims of Violence (KontraS) on Wednesday evening (26/3). The message was spoken after Andi Mallarangeng, spokesperson of Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudoyono, delivered his speech and congratulated KontraS. more

And other articles about human rights! Please visit us:
http://www.vhrmedia.com/inggris/index.php


April 16, 2008 | 5:53 AM Comments  0 comments



Natural Disasters Also of Human Doing
Related to country: Indonesia

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Written by: Rosmi Julitasari S.
Translated by: Tessa Rijk

"Transform Flooding into an Electric Power Source!" this sentence, which tickles the imagination and it critical and brilliant at the same time, is written on one of the winning posters of a competition held as part of the "South to South Film Festival 2008". This poster could very well represent the expression of the anger which has piled up in the mind of Jearnima Pasya, a third year elementary school student in Pontianak, after the never ending floods that hit this major town every year.

The floods are indeed annoying. Even at the start of the year 2008, Sukarno Hatta International airport in North Jakarta lay paralyzed for a couple of hours because it was flooded with water. This happening cast a dark shadow over the long proclaimed "Visit Indonesia Year 2008". Even President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Yusuf Kalla interfered to overcome this yearly "calamity".

Is it true that flooding is a natural disaster? The documentary The Bay of Jakarta Under Pressure shown on the "South to South Film Festival 2008" expresses its concern over the amount of rubbish exceeding 14 million liters a day filling up the Bay of Jakarta. This rubbish not only pollutes the rivers flowing through the capitol city, but also the 1000 Islands which are located close to the Bay. This is the 14 million liters of rubbish which "succeeds" in reaching the shores and the open sea. So what about the rubbish which does not get through? This is the trash that silts up the main rivers and its side currents and causes the water to overflow to the river beddings or the streets around them. This overflowing reaches its peak when rainfall is heavy. And this the moment flooding strikes without any further doubts.

While Jakarta is threatened to become one giant lake, something else is happening in Cilacap. The Segera Anakan is threatened to disappear from sight completely as a result of sedimentation which has been building up since the 1930s. These waters, which make up a delta where the Citanduy, Cimenent, Cibeureum, Cikonde and some other rivers come together, have already changed as a result of silting up with mud, which almost reaches one million cubic meters, brought along by aforementioned rivers.

It is not only the phenomenon of sedimentation which destroys the ecosystem of Segera Anakan, as highlighted by the makers of the film Laut yang Tenggelam (The Overflown Sea). This film, also shown at this festival with the environment as its theme, draws attention to changes in the lives of the communities that live around the Segera Anakan, the main victims of this sedimentation. They have been forced to change their sources of livelihood from fishing to farming, using empty land which has emerged as an effect of the sedimentation process of these waters, which used to make up an area of around 21.750 hectares. Their lives as fishermen have become increasingly stifling because the income from fishing is no longer sufficient to fulfill their daily needs.

This change in lifestyle has not taken place without problems. The people had to start from scratch and learn about farming processes while adjusting to this new way of life, which is different than the one before (fishermen can make money every day, while farmers need to wait for months until the harvest season). And as if that is not enough they have to deal with the Community Institute of Nusakambangan and the state forestry industry who claim that the emerged land belongs to them. Poverty and ignorance have finally become inherent to the lives of these fishermen, forced to become farmers.

If water has become a problem in Indonesia, another issue plays in Brasil. Because of continuous logging in Jacacua, Alagrete in Brasil a new problem has emerged: sand. In The Pampas Unknown Desert, sand plains are spreading ever wider, eroding unirrigated agricultural areas and grass fields used to feed the cattle of the inhabitants. They try to plant trees to hold back the increasingly rapid spreading of the sand plains, but these efforts only provide them with a little bit of hope, especially during the dry season when it is hard to find water. The trees that they have planted are also threatened to wither and die.

"South to South" not only presents documentary films about destruction and natural disasters. There are also films on local communities which resist against the exploitation of the natural wealth of their regions. Sipakapa is not for Sale is one of them. The residents of Sipakapa, a small town in Guatemala, fight against US gold mining corporation Montana. Air pollution from the mining "production" destroys their farming crops. Not to mention water wells drying up. The mining of gold uses up 250,000 liters of water every hour- comparable to the amount of water consumed by the entire population of Sipakapa in one whole year. So this scarcity of water is threatening their farms.

Not being able to cope any longer with the silence coming from the government, the residents of Sipakapa protested by blocking supporting trucks for the mining activities. As many as 3000 soldiers were mobilized to "control" the action, which finally sparked a riot causing 20 civilian casualties. But, the struggle of the population of Sipakapa did not end there. They held a referendum to show the extent of their rejection of the company. The result showed that 95% of the population was against gold mining in their region. They reported the result to the President of Guatemala but unfortunately, until today the referendum has not succeeded in realizing their wishes.

Clashing with a government who acts in the name of the interests of the state also happens in Malaysia. Through the film, Penusah Tana, or Struggle of the Forgotten, producers Hillary Chiew and Chi Too try to raise the difficulties experienced by the Dayak Penan tribe in Serawak who face logging in their living region. The logging business which started in the year 1960 is supported by the Malaysian government, who is not shy to act with repression toward the minority tribes opposing it. The businessman also shows two faces: he acts like the good student building public facilities (be it only in the shape of a school building which has never been put to use), but puts pressure on and removes the Dayak Penan tribe from the very forest on which their existence depends.

On the other hand, the involvement of the government handling environmental issues is not always accompanied by suffering of the people. As such, the government taking care of a group of elephants which are a nuisance to farmers in Sri Lanka in the film Wildlife's Worry or the establishment of a spring nature reserve in the Philippines in the film Forest Fortune, for example. Another effective way to preserve the environment is recorded in the film Sui Utik. The population of Sui Utik, a village in the heart of the Kalimantan forest, has its own rules and regulations with regard to their natural environment. Greed to drain or dominate the forest has no place in their policies towards nature for there is wisdom of planting and the even distribution of forest products. As a result, while other areas in Indonesia suffer from the grave effects of climate change which cause agricultural crops to decrease drastically, the population of Sui utik does not experience this.

This environmental film festival, which took place from 25 to 27 of January 2008 at the Goethe Institute in Jakarta, was closed with Too Hot not to Handle. This HBO production depicts climate change triggering a transformation of the weather and causing extreme natural disasters, from heat waves with temperatures which have increased threefold since 1950 and killing more people than a year long tornado, to 99 melting glaciers in Alaska.

Other documentaries about the environment are Mahua Memoirs which tells about the life experiences of a group of adivasi, a minority group from the East Ghats Mountains in India, faced with a dilemma about the richness of the area they live in. Jonathan Brown and the Lost Penguin teaches us how a lost penguin is returned to its original habitat. The Fridge talks about life in a refrigerator. And The Last Boy Riding depicts a world where there are no more fossil fuels left.

Experts often explain climate change and heat waves as the accumulation of the mercilessness of human kind in its management of the environment, which started since the industrial revolution. Ultimately, all kinds of human behavior towards the environment will sooner or later be felt by humans themselves. We are connected! (E4)
©2008 VHRmedia.com

March 14, 2008 | 4:19 AM Comments  0 comments



It’s hard to run a business in Papua
Related to country: Indonesia

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Written by: Dominggus Arnold Mampioper
Translated by: Rosmi Julitasari S

The Youtefa market is the biggest and busiest one in Jayapura, Papua, where the inhabitant of the city come buy their daily needs. Each day at 4 AM, merchants from Waris District, Keerom and Kemtuk District, Jayapura come to do their business at the market. Areca nut and sago palm are their main commodities.

Abina, a sago palm merchant fromm Kemtuk District, Jayapura, said that he sells sago palm in Youtefa market. He can sell two or three tumang (a sago palm’s container with capacity of 25 kg) in a day. One tumang is priced 100 thousands to 200 thousands rupiah. “It seems that I get many profit but I have to spend it straightly to buy our daily needs at home”.

The unproratable distribution for daily needs stuff in Papua may be the reason why the merchants at the market also take position as customers. The price for the stuff they have to buy is as high as their sold one.

“After 9 AM, the merchants change to be customers. They buy everything they need, and bring it to their home town”, said Dicky Rumaropen, the director of Development for Village Society (Yayasan Pengembangan Masyarakat Desa/YPMD) Papua.

Rumaropen said that this route of trade and selling may cause the incapability for the merchants to save their money. In addition, the Kemtuk District is located faraway from Jayapura. It is about 200 kilometers away from the city, makes the merchants have to spend a lot of money to pay the transportation fee. By giving this transportation services, the merchants can save their money up to 60 thousands rupiah.

In fact, people in Papua still have to hold their dream about economic recovery by autonomy budgetary fund for Papua. Even the state government has budgeted for 1.4 billions rupiah for the autonomy budgetary fund, but people still are not able to get the fund. Complicated bureaucracy and many requirements cause the difficulties for the people who really need the money. We cannot blame people of Papua for their demand to separate from Indonesia, because of this injustice condition.

“I had purposed a budget for the empowering economic society’s fund as a part of the autonomy budgetary fund. But no one in the government has given me any responds”, said Hanok Aronggear, who sold a traditional rice in Waena Expo, Jayapura.

They cannot depend on the bank either. Banks in Papua have not maximized their capability as capital treasure for people in the most eastern area in Indonesia. Whereas, there are five cooperative credit unions (Bank Perkreditan Rakyat) and 74 state banks in Papua. But this amount does not encourage local entrepreneurs to propose any loans, for they have to face very complicated requirements.

Gerson Rumbiak, an entrepreneur to supply stationeries service said that it’s not easy to get loan from the banks in Papua. “The banks will give loan to us if only we already have a project from government and holding a letter of agreement to do the project. But the loan only will be a half of the amount of total project”, said Rumbiak.

It seems impossible for people of Papua to be independent and make any progress for their homeland. The financial support, even in a very little scale, is difficult to be provided by our government. If only our representatives will see the data from Badan Pusat Statistik of Papua in 2006, almost a half of Papuans are living in prosperity.

©2007 VHRmedia.com

December 10, 2007 | 5:58 AM Comments  0 comments



Indonesia: the Future Atlantis
Related to country: Indonesia

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

By: Angga Haksoro
Translated by: Rosmi Julitasari S

The earth is getting warmer. The environment is harmed. Wounded nature threats human being.

4 centuries BC, Plato mentioned about a loosing civilization: “in the front of Mainstay Haigelisi strait, there was a big island, large land surrounded by the sea. It was Atlantic imperium”. The philosopher had written down this statement in a book titled Timaeus.

According to the legend, Atlantic was preparing a big attack against Athena at that time. But the plan was completely left behind, when a big flood and earthquake happened and destroyed the continent, brought it into an endless sleep deep inside the Atlantic Ocean just before their plan was executed.

Plato illustrated Atlantis in 13th BC. It was his idea to describe how the world will come to an end. Some people believe that Atlantis was only a myth, while the rest believe the other way. There are arguments on this, but slowly it faded away.

The sleeping Atlantis had been left unnoticed at the bottom of the ocean. But its tranquil was suddenly disturbed when Ignatius Donnelly wrote and published a book titled Myths of the Antediluvian World. This publication urged the search for the “missing continent” then. Donelly had shared his belief in the existence of a big island right across Mediterranean Sea. He believed it was Atlantis, and it really existed.

Donnelly even unfolded scientific evidence telling Atlantis’ civilization had spread from coasts of Atlantic Ocean, away to Mediterranean, Caucasus, South and North America, Baltic, and Central Asia. Donnelly’s arguments were not surprising, since mythologies in Egypt and Peru told Atlantis’ faith: worshiping the Sun. Phoenicia alphabet, the mother of alphabet in Europe, is also concerned by Donnelly as inherited alphabet used by Atlantis’ inhabitants.

Out of the arguments and conspiracy about Atlantis, there is one thing for sure: the power of nature can destroy all of civilizations and nations, including Atlantis. The same worry comes up in modern time. Even it is not as horrifying as Atlantis, the sinking of several little islands is in front of our eyes already. The melting ice because of global warming is predicted to cause similar disaster.

Indonesia also has similar potential like Atlantis, considering this country is spread out among 81,000 kilometers shore, the longest in the world. This condition will cause a big disaster because 60% of the population lives by the shores.

The fear of sinking equator islands is able to be seen recently. According to Syamsul Ma’arif, the General Director of Shores and Small Islands, Indonesia lost 5 cm of its land each year, because of the abrasion of sea water. But he’s not quit sure that this phenomenon is caused by global warming.

“Once, we identified that there were 17,504 islands. But after we recounted, there are only 17,480 islands. It means there are 24 islands disappeared. I can not make sure that this disappearance is because of miscounting or global warming”.

Different point of view comes from Emil Salim. He believes that sinking islands occurred as the effect of global warming. The maestro of environment preservation issue in Indonesia is even sure that Fanuatu, Kirlyfatsu, and Marshal Island in Pacific islands was sunk because the sea water level had increased. “If it keeps going on, the 2,000 islands in Indonesia will disappear in 2030, from 12,000 islands that Indonesia still has now,” said former Minister of Environmental and Demography in Orde Baru era.

Emil Salim, who just received Honorable Prime Engineer in Ecology, Geology, and Environment from Agency for the Assessment & Application of Technology (BPPT), said that global warming affects the poor mainly, for most of them depend on the kind of nature to earn money.

“We depend on rice plant. Meanwhile the irrigation may change because the seasons also change. The rainfall reduces, so water for irrigation is hard to find. We will face the limitation of food production and water. And the most suffering persons must be the poor in developing countries.

Nur Hidayati, the campaign manager of Season and Energy for Green Peace in South East Asia, agreed with Emil Salim. She said that the long dry season and high intensity rainfall in shorten rain season will be faced directly by people. She predicted the accumulation of CO2 in atmosphere will continue increasing, as the effect of hazardous gas from industry has not been limited yet, the earth temperature will increase up to 20 C in next ten years.

“Since industrial revolution, the earth temperature has increased up to 0.60 C in average, but in some areas the increase has achieved up to 30 C,” said Nurhidayati.

Asrowi, a traditional peasan lives in Meteseh, Tembalang, part of Semarang, confessed that he didn’t get much crop as previous year. Longing dry season caused his field did not get enough water, so the field did not give good harvest just like he hopes. He even had to sell his two buffalos to survive.

“I lost many crops this year. The harvest is much, but the paddies are empty. They used to grow in a very good, so I am very disappointed. The good growing paddies turned to be bad because they did not get enough water, the rain fell infrequently.

The Chief of Exploitation Section, Department of Water Management , Central Java Province, Arus Horizon, said that the water quantity in some big dams in Central Java has decreased. This happened to Kedungombo dam especially. Kedungombo was built to irrigate fields in five district: Grobogan, Demak, Pati, Kudus, and Jepara.

“Kedungombo needs to be handled now. The sublimation is very high there, because the temperature is also very high. Today, the water level is only 79.10 m, with 347.36 millions m3 of water volume. It was 79.20 m yesterday, so it has been about 5 millions m3 of water had sublimated because of the heat.

Arus Horizon even confessed that water demand will not able to be met in the next planting season. Compare to last year, Kedungombo has extra water supply for the fields. “We are proposing of artificial rainfall in early first planting season. It will be about in early November.

Kamal Nainggolan, the Head of Food Defence, Department of Agriculture, confirmed that the failure of harvesting this year will not give any impact on the rice supply in nation wide. But he was sure that the changing climate had given a very big impact on harvesting failure. “The impact is quit significant. We already had prominent quality rice, but how we can have good harvest if the climate does not give reliable support? Climate may become the X factor that gives big influence for our agriculture. Who can control the climate?” he said.

According to Minister of Environment, Rahmat Witoelar, the government has tried to reduce the hazardous gas emission to the air. Unfortunately, this national plan will be perceived ten years later.

Rahmat Witoelar denied that his department did not act firmly to overcome the problems of environment pollution. “What part? We had taken action against the naughty company and brought them to the court. And then, what else we have to do? It is the only thing we can do. I refused if the Ministry of Environment is not firm in taking action to handle the environment hazard.

Andri G. Wibisana, an expert on environment law from University of Indonesia agreed if the environment hazard has to be brought to the court. Because, the “consequences” for pollutant company to give compensation for polluted community and environment is only to manage a corporate responsibility community development, which doesn’t give any effective effects.

“They provide clean water; it does not mean they are doing community development. It is their mistakes if the water is polluted. It’s out of context already. If we pollute the environment, we have to clean it. Corporate social responsibility seems occur as a kindness of the corporation. I don’t believe it”, he said.

Of course, we never want Indonesia to be next Atlantis. But we need awareness from all part of Indonesian people to prevent the threats. The government has to act strictly. “The most important thing is government’s courage. If they do not dare to take any actions, Indonesia will be finished”, said Emil Salim.

©2007 VHRmedia.com

December 10, 2007 | 5:47 AM Comments  0 comments



The miserable lives of ex political convicts in Southeast Celebes: Even the sky turns its face away from me
Related to country: Indonesia


Written by: Syaiful Haq
Translated by: Jimmy L. Simanungkalit

It was September 5th, 2007, at noon. Finally, the patience came to an end. “We have been trying so many ways, all offices ignored us and people’s hearts couldn’t be touched. There is no other way, a demonstration is the best we can do.” A fragment of an e-mail got into my electronic mailbox.

One of the national television channels displayed the demonstration of hundreds farmers of Nanga-nanga at BPN (National Agrarian Affairs) of Kendari office. What was happening? Who are those people actually? They are just ordinary farmers, poor, and assumed as illegal forest’s cut down of Nanga-nanga. Early on November last year, I had an interview with a man in Kendari, South Celebes. Let’s just call him, Mr. S.

Entering his one floor house’s yard, I could see a warm big smile in his face. One set of old broken chairs and dusty brittle thatch wall. Mr. S offered some mangoes which were picked from the tree in front of his house. “Well, as you see, mangoes, hot tea, and water, healthy enough for me,” said Mr. S. His wife bowed down as I asked her why she is willing to marry an ex political convict. “Actually, I am his second wife. His first wife left him when he was sent to jail. I was still young then, I fell in love and didn’t even think whether he was a member of the Indonesia Communist Party (PKI) or not. Until now, we already have six children.”

Our conversation led to the topic which I was going to write about. Mr. S didn’t miss even one point of his memories about what was happened in the past, started when he detained until he lives in Nanga-nanga now. “It doesn’t mean that I don’t want to forget about that, but I just can’t.”
The dark side of the national history of Indonesia in 1965, the politics’ fight which was caused more than one million people killed, not to mention millions of people were sent to jail without any legal process, was executed in the name of fighting against the “evil of communism” by the new regime.

Up to now, that incident still leaves many kinds of problems behind. Many people preferred to forget about it, but some people chose to keep struggling in finding the truth and justice on that bloody tragedy. It will be even more hurt for those people who have no option to choose, those who have been trying to forget but they just can’t, just like Mr. S. “I’ve been trying to live normally as I got marry for the second time, but all people seemed to turn away from me. I often cry when I listen to this Ebiet’s song.”

Kini aku pulang (I get home now)
semoga dapat diterima (Wishing to be accepted)
ingin kubuktikan maknanya bertobat (I want to proof the meaning of repentance)
seperti impianku akan kubangun kecerahan (Just like what I’ve been dreaming, starting a new life)
kubaktikan sisa hidup untuk kebajikan... (I will devote the rest of my life for goodness)
namun ternyata apa yang kuterima (But in fact, what I have received)
semburan ludah sumpah serapah... (Spits and curses...)
nyatanya jiwaku tetap terpidana (as a matter of fact, my life and soul are still get punished)
sesungguhnya aku telah mati dalam hidup... (To be truth, I already dead in my own life)
kemanakah harus kubuang kegetiran, (Where will I throw these bitters away)
langit yang kutatap pun berpaling dariku (Even the sky I look above turns its face away from me)

Thus, that is the meaning of the part of the song’s lyric for an ex political convict, a song titled “Orang-orang terkucil” (Eliminated People) which is written by Ebiet G. Ade, a famous singer in Indonesia, representing the victims that spread out in Indonesia. Getting rejected, swept aside, and isolated. The punishment that they had been undergone for tens of years actually didn’t stop as the released from the prison. Sweeping away, discrimination, stigma, stereotype, isolation, until proprietary rights on land problems and also their rights as a citizen seems to be disappeared only for one sentence which keeps haunting them, “ex political convict”.

“…we have no other choice,” he said as he sang the song softly.

September 30, 1965. After the rebellion of Revolution Board which was followed by the murder of seven army generals, Indonesia Communist Party was accused to be the player behind that tragedy. Murder movement and systematically arrestment to the front of Soekarno’s proponent executed evenly in Indonesia. Communist clan, Nationalist clan, and even Religion clan which supported Soekarno got arrested and murdered. Millions people got killed for nothing, some people has been missing, while some people who were treated just a little bit better but somehow were not lucky enough, got arrested and sent to jail without any reasonable legal process. Java Island was the area with the most massively victims in this tragedy of humanity. Not to mention that other area didn’t experience the same tragedy, although the victims were relatively smaller. The humanity problems don’t refer to only quantity of the victims, but also refers to quality of the result which was caused by the crimes against humanity action. In Celebes, that tragedy also left a poignant wound as in Java.

On October 18th, 1965, the first arrestment was happened in Southeast Celebes. Eight people who were accused as the region leader of PKI got arrested by the 143 Military Command institution. On October 28th, 1965, turbulence by design got started in Southeast Celebes and its surroundings. The community who was led by several mass organizations and youth organizations started destroying and smashing the houses of the people who were accused as PKI and also to the institutions which were suspected to be infiltrated by PKI. There was no exact number of loss and victims that was caused by that turmoil. Kendari, Buton, Makassar, Palu, and other several districts in Celebes became the central of that massive turmoil.

The year of 1968 becomes the peak of the arrestment to the people who were accused as PKI in Celebes. In Kendari, more than two hundreds people reported got arrested. Since the Rehabilitation Institution in Kendari was insufficient to accommodate, then a Military Detention Center was built in Kendari. In 1969, a rumor was spread out that said Buton was the center of PKI’s weapon supply operation from China. This rumor was spread out by the Regional Military Command. As the result, hundreds people got arrested. The Regent office of Buton was signed as the center of that weapon supply operations. Tens staffs of that office were also arrested, including Kasim, the Regent of Buton at that time, who was clarified after several months committed to suicide by hanging him self down in the prison. In 1969, the Wirabuana Territorial Military Commander, Andi Aziz Rustam, together with Military Prosecuting Attorney, Colonel Busono, and Colonel Bagyo from the central of the Directorate of Justice, announced a statement, said that there was no weapon found in Buton, and there was also no weapon supply operation from China.

Regarding to the statement, some of the Buton Regency’s elites were kept arrested, but then they were moved to Moncongloe, Makassar to be reallocated. After the massive arrestment which was started in 1965, then between the year of 1968 and 1969, the present government pointed the party to execute an interrogation and screening. Several names who did the interrogation by torturing are recorded (those names will not be mentioned here). The detainees, who were being interrogated, were forced to admit what they had not perpetrated and then signed an agreement regarding to the investigation proceeding report. Electric shocking, lashing, put the flaming cigarette onto the body, pinching the fingers between tables, were applied in the process of that interrogation.

In 1971, toward the election, the detainees from Kendari and Buton Military Detention Center were moved to Military Internee Center Camp in Ameroro. The first group consisted of 156 people and the second group consisted of two hundreds people. Those political convicts were then exploited to work on projects under the military control. The activity which was named Bakti Karya, was directly leaded by Lieutenant Colonel Ahmad Haju, the Head of Division of 143 Military Command, who was also held the Head of Taperda in Southeast Celebes at that time. The project was to clear away thousands hectares forest for transmigration area and making a new path in the remote spot of Celebes forest, were carried out of the political convicts without getting any wages and they were provided with improper logistics. Many of them fell ill and dead while working on that project. Hundreds people were labored to build various infrastructures until the year of 1977.

On December 26th, 1973, 115 people were labored to construct a new city called Resettlement Anduonoho, which is known as Anduonoho subdistrict now. This project was led by the commander of 143 Military Command, Colonel DN Lintang. Those ex political convicts were ordered to build Lapuko quay, city streets, cleared away the forest, prepared lots and many other supporting facilities, including to build the Kendari Training Center. After finishing the project in 1977, hundreds families (the non political convicts) were moved from the edges of Kendari to Anduonoho. They got the lot of land and enjoyed various facilities that had been prepared and built by those political convicts. Until now, Anduonoho rapidly grows, becomes the center of dwelling place, and also the central business district in Kendari. Meanwhile, in December 1977, 115 political convicts who had finished constructing the Resettlement Anduonoho, were concentrated in Nanga-nanga to construct a location for political convicts who will be released soon. They cleared away the forest approximately one thousand hectare wide and built six barracks to be lived in by about two hundreds political convicts who will be moved to Nanga-nanga in the next year.

In Nanga-nanga, more than two hundreds ex political convicts lived their new lives without enjoying the clean water, electricity, and good-conditioned road. The jurisdiction on land was then legally handed over by the government to the ex political, represented by the letter of explanation, issued by the present province government and Regional Military Command. In 1978, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had ever visited this area and did the field auditing. The barb wire which was used to be installed around this area was taken off in order to make this area wasn’t looked like a prison camp. This ICRC visitation proved that they had donated fund to rehabilitate the ex political convicts in Nanga-nanga. But until now, no legitimate report can be found as the result of their auditing on this area, both fund allocation report and living worthiness of those ex political convicts in Nanga-nanga.

After living in Nanga-nanga for more than thirty years, problems didn’t seem to be automatically stopped. Many discriminative actions were still applied on them. The scorns, stigma, and limitation to the access of social politics have been keeping them to be different from the non-ex-political convict citizen. Moreover, in the last two years, they have been disturbed with one sidedness claims on their lands which they have been working on for more than thirty years. Some persons started trying to sell their lands, claiming for the sake of the custom land against their jurisdiction lands. This condition isn’t just happened, but that involved the bad person of the village functionary and the entrepreneurs.

Trying to fight means they have to prepare themselves into the same incident that may be repeated, an incident that they prefer to be forgotten. Up to now, sending letter, and complaining from one bureaucracy office to other government offices, will be the safest action for them to do. Doing more than that? A demonstration, for an instance, means that they are ready to give their lives to those people who kept maintaining the evil of communist and mystical fears in their heads.

Walking through an asphalt road from Wolter Monginsidi Airport, Kendari, headed to South Konawe, business activities are so busy and alive. The transportation tracks are the prerequisite to the mobilization of the production, and become the prop of the economic. The sea breeze blew softly at the Lapuko quay. The fishermen’s boats were tied up. The fishes were brought to the land, to be sold, and then to be served on the dining table accompanied by a light conversation about business, newest edition of hand phone, and also about movie television and gossip news.

Entering Anduonoho, never comes to my mind that in 1977 this area was still a jungle, while now, stores, stalls, and luxurious house, and newest edition cars, are parked in the shady yard that represents the state of the owner’s establishing life. The November rain fell down in the dusk. A banner, inscribed with “Beware! A New Form of Communist Has Been Raised”, was posted at the street intersection, in the heart of Kendari town.

Meanwhile in Nanga-nanga, the area where the ex political convicts have been resettled since 1977, tens of shacks which are far from each other, the decrepit shacks with ground floor, the supper had not ready yet because the firewood was a little bit wet of the rain that afternoon. Here, in Nanga-nanga, the people who once opened the new path along South Konawe, Trans South Celebes, built Lapuko quay, developed Anduonoho town, and make other people live happily on it. These are the people who up to now, have been haunted by the status of ex political convict. The people whose lands have started to be sold and snatched a bit by bit. The people who are constantly given a stigma the “communist evil” who are “believed” can ruin this country at any time, even with their own weak and old hands. Their commendable services are never remembered. The road which they built for tens years with their own hands, a quay that has been supporting many people lives, a town where hundreds people dwell and live in prosperity, but those things seem to have no meaning. Everyday, that town, that quay, and that road, are cursed with the sentence of “What a communist!” by millions people as they passed through.

Just like what Mr. S said,”It is not that I don’t want to forget it, it just….we can not… We have no option to choose.”

Syaful Haq, students of Defense and Security Studies ITB – Cranfiels University United Kingdom. At the present, he is doing research in Geissen, Germany.

©2007 VHRmedia.com

October 25, 2007 | 3:04 AM Comments  0 comments

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