Remembering Wiji Thukul, Indonesia's Murdered Poet-activist

ABSTRACT

Modern Indonesia has been shaped by human rights abuses, with the military regime of Major-General Suharto (1966 −1998) standing at the fulcrum of this history. Over twenty-five years since its fall, survivors and their families continue to struggle with this legacy. This paper focuses on the case of Wiji Thukul, a disappeared poet-activist whose life and work continue to inspire progressive Indonesians decades after he played an important role in the movement that helped topple Suharto’s dictatorship. It translates for a non-Indonesian audience his life, which was characterised by a creative practice that gave voice to working-class people like himself. It asserts that remembering Thukul has helped energise and galvanise efforts to advance Indonesia’s conflicted and fragile democratic project. In doing this, it also charts how, in the first two decades of the millennium, he came to be an underground icon of activism and public discourse on unresolved human rights abuses and democratic reform, notably through the ‘refusing to forget’ movement. This has been significant in resistance to the return of authoritarianism. Beyond this, it examines how his memory has been translated for a new generation that never experienced the regime and argues for his significance in an international context.

KEYWORDS:

• Indonesia
• poetry
• Wiji Thukul
• public memory
• resistance
• Suharto
• reformasi
• democraticisation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 See the discussion/references below.

2 The Indonesian Genocide of 1965: Causes, Dynamics and Legacies, Ed. Katharine E. McGregor, Jess Melvin, and Annie Pohlman, Palgrave Studies in the History of Genocide (Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018); Jess Melvin, The Army and the Indonesian Genocide: Mechanics of Mass Murder, Rethinking Southeast Asia, 15 (Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY: Routledge, 2018); Geoffrey B. Robinson, The Killing Season: A History of the Indonesian Massacres, 1965–1966 (Princeton University Press, 2018); The International People’s Tribunal for 1965 and the Indonesian Genocide, Ed. Saskia E. Wieringa, Jess Melvin, and Annie Pohlman (Routledge, 2019).

3 Solo’s prominent part in the history of the PKI goes back to the emergence of socialism in Indonesia in the 1910s and the foundation of the party as Asia’s first communist party outside the Soviet Union in 1920. See Takashi Shiraishi, An Age in Motion: Popular Radicalism in Java, 1912–1926 (Cornell University Press, 1990); Ruth T. McVey, The Rise of Indonesian Communism (Cornell University Press, 1965); Donald Hindley, The Communist Party of Indonesia, 1951–1963 (University of California Press, 1966).

4 R. Goodfellow, Api Dalam Sekam: The New Order and the Ideology of Anti-Communism, Monash University Centre of Southeast Asian Studies Working Papers (Centre of Southeast Asian Studies, Monash University, 1995).

5 TEMPO, Wiji Thukul: A Conspiracy of Silence (Tempo Publishing, 2014).

6 Wiji Thukul, Suara Independen, 1.5 (1995).

7 ‘Wiji Thukul’, Suara Independen, November 1995.

8 Richard Curtis, People, Poets, Puppets: Popular Performance and the Wong Cilik in Contemporary Java. PhD Dissertation (Curtin University of Technology, 1997).

9 ‘Keliling Kampung Baca Sajak Dan Mendongeng’, Minggu Ini, 8 December 1985.

10 Wiji Thukul, Nyanyian Akar Rumput: Kumpulan Lengkap Puisi. Ed. Bustomi Arman Dhani (Gramedia Pustaka Utama, 2014), 34. Translation by Stephen Miller.

11 Mata Najwa: Catatan Perlawan. MetroTV, 29 Mar. 2017. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLu2P-Uj4I6dBfbUBOw4mVQeMUO6z-_AEe ‘Catatan Perlawanan (3)’, timestamp 6:20.

12 Max Lane, Unfinished Nation: Indonesia Before and After Suharto (Verso).

13 See the references to the political genocide of 1965 above.

14 Lane; Tod Jones, Culture, Power, and Authoritarianism in the Indonesian State, Brill; Stephen Miller, The Communist Imagination: A Study of the Cultural Pages of Harian Rakjat in the Early 1950s, PhD Dissertation (University of New South Wales, 2015).

15 Lane; Richard Robison, Indonesia, the Rise of Capital (Allen & Unwin, 1986); Jeffrey Winters, Power in Motion : Capital Mobility and the Indonesian State (Cornell University Press, 1996).

16 ‘a strange puzzle’ (teka-teki yang ganjil), in Thukul, 2014. Translation by Stephen Miller and Richard Curtis.

17 Marc Perlman, “The Traditional Javanese Performing Arts in the Twilight of the New Order: Two Letters from Solo,” Indonesia 68 (1999): 1–37.

18 Ristia Nurmalita, Widji Thukul: Aku Masih Utuh dan Kata-kata Belum Binasa (Jakarta: Anak Hebat Indonesia, 2017).

19 Pramoedya Ananta Toer (1925–2006) was the premier novelist of the Indonesian Revolution and the early post-independence period. He was also a pioneering historian of Indonesian literature and language. A radical left nationalist, he was imprisoned in 1965 and held without charge or trial as a communist (despite never having been a party member) until December 1979. He remained under various forms of arrest (e.g., house and city arrest) until the fall of the regime in 1998. During his incarceration on the concentration camp island of Buru, he managed to produce a series of literary and historical works, including the renowned This Earth of Mankind (Bumi Manusia) tetralogy. Despite being banned and the threat of imprisonment for circulating these works, they were popular and Pramoedya became an icon for an emerging generation of pro-democracy activists. Lane; Max Lane, Indonesia Out of Exile: How Pramoedya’s Buru Quartet Killed a Dictatorship (Penguin, 2023).

20 Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks of Antonio Gramsci (International Publishers, 1971), 9–10.

21 Many works discuss Gramsci’s concept of the organic intellectual. For example, see J. Schwarzmantel, The Routledge Guidebook to Gramsci’s Prison Notebooks (Taylor & Francis, 2014); R. Simon, Gramsci’s Political Thought: An Introduction (Lawrence & Wishart, 2015); and P. D. Thomas, The Gramscian Moment: Philosophy, Hegemony and Marxism (Brill, 2009). All have useful sections on Gramsci’s ideas on this front.

22 Richard Curtis, People, Poets, Puppets: Popular Performance and the Wong Cilik in Contemporary Java. PhD Dissertation (Curtin University of Technology, 1997).

23 These two lines are taken from a popular oppositional song of the period, which was often used by buskers on public transport and on the street. The composer, Yayak Yatmaka/Yayak Kencrit (Bambang Adyatmaka), was also the caricaturist for the famous ‘Tanah untuk Rakyat’ calendar (1991), which featured Thukul’s poem ‘about a movement’ (tentang sebuah gerakan). Although the song was popular, Yayak resisted commercialisation, but encouraged adaptation to local conditions (which is exactly what the Sanggar Suka Banjir members did).

24 Translation by Richard Curtis, with adjustments by Stephen Miller. The ‘free’ here (merdeka) means both ‘free’ and ‘independent’. The use here is clearly ironic.

25 See for instance, Suara Kampung no 3.

26 Curtis.

27 The calendar is discussed in Goodfellow, as well as Anton Lucas, “Land Disputes in Indonesia: Some Current Perspectives,” Indonesia 53 (1992): 79–92.

28 Thukul 152.

29 Wahyu Adiningtyas, The Assemblage of Power: The Role of The State in Minimum Wage Policy in Indonesia. PhD Dissertation (Victoria University of Wellington, 2018).

30 Thukul 196.

31 Lane.

32 Detailed accounts of this period are given in the English and Indonesian booklets published by Tempo that were cited above. See also Lane, 2008 and Edward Aspinall, Opposing Suharto: Compromise, Resistance, and Regime Change in Indonesia (Stanford University Press, 2005).

33 Thukul 171.

34 Aspinall; Lane.

35 Richard Curtis, “Where is Wiji Thukul?” Inside Indonesia 02 Jul. 2000: 63; TEMPO, Wiji Thukul.

36 Ikatan Keluarga Korban Orang Hilang Indonesia (http://ikohi.org) and Komisi untuk Orang Hilang dan Korban Tindak Kekerasan (http://kontras.org/).

37 Wilson (ed.), Kebenaran Akan Terus Hidup: Catatan-Catatan Tentang Wiji Thukul (Ikohi, 2007).

38 Wiji Thukul, Aku Ingin Jadi Peluru : Sajak-Sajak (Indonesia Tera, 2000). This was later updated as a pocketbook edition: Thukul, Wiji. Aku Ingin Jadi Peluru – kumpulan puisi. Cet. 2. Indonesia Tera. 2004.

39 Tinuk Yampolsky, “Wiji Thukul: People’s Poet.” Menagerie 5, Ed. Lontar Laora Arkeman, (2003), 147–54.

40 Tinuk.

41 Mugiyanto, and Ikatan Keluarga Orang Hilang Indonesia (eds.), Mereka Yang Hilang Dan Mereka Yang Ditinggalkan. IKOHI, 2004.

42 Batas Panggung. 2004. This film was produced by KontraS and Offstream.

43 ‘Penghargaan’, Tempo 08/12/2002.

44 Wilson.

45 “Kembalikan Mereka.” Kick Andy, Metro TV, 9 Mar. 2011. This is the programme title as it appears on the Kick Andy website. It also appears under the title ‘Mereka yang hilang dan belum kembali’ (Those who disappeared and have not returned). See http:// http://www.kickandy.com/. The programme is available on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/@ikohifederasi/videos.

46 Richard Arthur Curtis, “Introduction.” After My Father Disappeared, Ed. Richard A. Curtis (Pusat Sejarah dan Etika Politik, Universitas Sanata Dharma Yogyakarta, 2009).

47 Fitri Nganthi Wani, After My Father Disappeared: A Collection of Poems, 1999–2007. Pusat Sejarah dan Etika Politik, Universitas Sanata Dharma Yogyakarta, 2009.

48 In attendance also were Munir’s widow, Suciwati, and their nine-year-old son, Allende. See ‘Anak Widji Thukul Mengenang Lewat Puisi’, Kompas 17/06/2009).

49 During the new Order period, Iwan Fals’ attracted a massive following from urban youth because his song lyrics often critiqued social inequity and corruption, targeting. Concerts and songs were banned. Two of his songs, ‘Bento’ and ‘Bongkar’, pilloried the corporate greed and cronyism at the heart of the Suharto regime’s developmentalist politics and were particularly popular. M. Y. Darmawan, “Iwan Fals, Music, and the Voice of Resistance,” I-Pop: International Journal of Indonesian Popular Culture and Communication 1, no. 1 (Feb. 2020): 41–62.

50 ‘Wiji Thukul: Teka-teki Orang Hilang’, Tempo, 12 Mei 2013. Tempo is something of an Indonesian equivalent to Time magazine, although perhaps a little less conservative and more intellectual than its American counterpart. This special feature was later published as a book: TEMPO. Wiji Thukul: Teka-Teki Orang Hilang. Cetakan pertama, Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia, 2013. By 2019, the book had gone through three printings, and was also available in a pocketbook version. Tempo also released an English language version: TEMPO, Wiji Thukul: A Conspiracy of Silence (Tempo Publishing, 2014).

51 Wiji Thukul (2013, 12 Mei). Para Jenderal marah-marah. Tempo.

52 Wiji Thukul (2013, 12 Mei). Para Jenderal marah-marah. Tempo.

53 ‘Wiji Thukul Penyair Demonstran’ (2014). MetroTV appropriated the activist catch cry Melawan Lupa (‘Resist Forgetting’) as the title for a series of historical documentaries and something of a channel slogan.

54 “Puisi Wiji Thukul yang ‘Menyengat’ Orde Baru [Wiji Thukul’s poetry which ‘stung’ the new Order].” DetikNews 01 Jul. 2014.

55 ‘apa guna punya ilmu/kalau hanya untuk mengibuli/apa guna banyak baca buku/kalau mulut kau bungkam melulu’.

56 Examples of collaborative work: the Punk/mad max style music drama :2014 Youtube clip ‘Sajak Suara’ by Melanie Subono feat Fajar Merah (4K)’ (‘Penghargaan’, 2002). ‘Sajak Suara’ (In 2013 Fajar Merah and Wani also collaborated in a concert with popular Bali band, ‘Superman is Dead’, see Jadilah Legenda – Superman Is Dead https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RPrb2xAr-Y

57 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IZ_jF2UHe0. There are several other sites that include footage of other performances of the song, with hundreds of thousands of views (for example, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtCz0UuzIH8 with over 650,000 views as of November, 2023).

58 Fitri Nganthi Wani, After my Father Disappeared: A Collection of Poems, 1999–2007. Yogyakarta: Pusat Sejarah dan Etika Politik, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2009. The front cover of this book uses imagery from Thukul’s poem ‘Bunga dan Tembok’ (‘The Flowers and the Wall’) mentioned above.

59 This film won an award for Best Independent Film from the Indonesian Ministry of Education and was included in selections for a number of international film festivals (including the Festival del Film Locarno, the Pacific Meridian International Film Festival of Asia Pacific Countries, and the QCinema International Film Festival).

60 Clarence Tsui, “‘Solo, Solitude’ (‘Istirahatlah Kata Kata’): Film Review.”, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Jan. 2017, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/solo-solitude-istirahatlah-kata-kata-film-review-964839/. Okky Madasari, “Wiji Thukul: A Film Alone Won’t Be Enough.”, The Jakarta Post, 31 Jan. 2017, https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2017/01/31/wiji-thukul-a-film-alone-wont-be-enough.html.

61 Nyanyian Akar Rumput (2018) won the prestigious Piala Citra (Indonesia’s Oscars) as the best full-length documentary. It has also been shown internationally, for example at the 2018 Busan Film Festival in South Korea. ‘Nyanyian Akar Rumput', Sukses Raih Piala Citra, Diapresiasi di Korea. (2018, December 17). Kompas, available at https://entertainment.kompas.com/read/2018/12/17/172138310/nyanyian-akar-rumput-sukses-raih-piala-citra-diapresiasi-di-korea

62 A 2014 Youtube clip shows Jokowi promising he will find out what happened for Thukul’s family, who he considers his ‘good friends’: ‘Apa Jawaban Jokowi, Saat Ditanya Soal Wiji Thukul’? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbxLzZWGDpI&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0ZBbsRo57bvOkMzJ8Ait_2NSIRfdcArnKmswa9DqR7o4GcrW-g4G_joZc

63 Matt Easton, We have Tired of Violence: A True Story of Murder, Memory, and the Fight for Justice in Indonesia (The New Press, 2022). Easton gives a detailed account of Munir’s case.

64 Hilmar Farid, “Indonesia’s Original Sin: Mass Killings and Capitalist Expansion, 1965–1966,” Inter-Asia Cultural Studies 6, no. 1, 3–16.

65 Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2006: The Annual Survey of Political Rights and Civil Liberties (Rowman & Littlefield, 2006); Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2013: The Annual Survey of Political Rights and Civil Liberties (Rowman & Littlefield, 2013); Thomas Power and Eve Warburton, “The Decline of Indonesian Democracy.” in Democracy in Indonesia : From Stagnation to Regression, Ed. Thomas Power and Eve Warburton. (ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute, 2020); Ken Setiawan, “Vulnerable but Resilient: Indonesia in an Age of Democratic Decline,” Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies 58, no. 3, 273–95.

66 Harry Aveling, Secrets Need Words: Indonesian Poetry, 1966–1998 (Ohio University Press, 2001). This was only partially rectified by including poetry by Thukul in the revised Indonesian edition, possibly because the publisher, IndonesiaTera, had also earlier published the first comprehensive anthology of Thukul’s poems. Harry Aveling. Rumah sastra Indonesia (IndonesiaTera, 2002); Michael H. Bodden, “Secrets need words: Indonesian Poetry, 1966–1998,” The Journal of Asian Studies 62, no. 1 (2003): 329–31.

67 Curtis; Rosslyn von der Borch, Art and Activism: Some Examples from Contemporary Central Java (Flinders University of South Australia, 1988). Muhammad Febriansyah, Performing Arts and Politics in New Order Indonesia: Compromise and Resistance, Südostasien working papers (Department of Southeast Asian Studies, Humboldt-University, 2009).