Reconciliation
Irwanto
The 2019 presidential election and legislative elections have finished with legal certainty. We are now starting to get busy with the idea of reconciliation, with whom and how.
In responding to the need for reconciliation, all of us, including government officials, must be wise in looking at the historical context so that our nation’s vessel does not spill over and cause another mess. The archipelago’s beautiful patchwork that has been sewn together for more than 70 years may otherwise be torn apart, not by a completely new problem, but a new problem that emerges from old, unresolved problems.
Why have Rwanda and Cambodia taken a difficult and uncertain path towards restorative justice? Because the genocidal events that occurred in their countries cannot be solved by economic and judicial developments alone. The process of cultural psychology is needed to understand why the events occurred and to build new commitments and norms of living together.
Creating a monster
Conflicts over political ideology, identity and the economy have occurred since the independence, long before even the G30S/PKI tragedy. However, the G30S/PKI tragedy that claimed millions of lives was the strongest and most terrifying monster that was created. The event that caused internal wounds, cultural wounds and inter-generational wounds was the result of the Cold War that almost destroyed the entire sociopolitical foundation of this nation, with fellow citizens killing each other.
Millions of people died, and many more lost their citizenship and the chance to be respected citizens, simply because they were deemed to have a connection to the PKI (Indonesian Communist Party).
The event was followed by a one-sided narrative that glorified the "crackdown" against our fellow brothers and boxed up the murdered parties. They were isolated and labeled the murderers and destroyers of the nation’s values. Alternative narratives did not appear for the next 35 years. The people were trapped in the shadow of horrors that were portrayed, disclosed and practiced in real and symbolic ways across three generations. The unilateral "truth" seemed to be carved in stone.
Truth was "taboo" and "dangerous". The PKI and a horde of frightening narratives had become monsters in the collective memory of all Indonesian citizens.
Helplessness
One important feature of traumatic experiences in their various forms is the sense of helplessness in tragedy and of powerlessness in dealing with the consequences. In mass trauma, almost all parties who experienced the tragedy will feel helpless. This feeling of helplessness can be overcome if a reasonable explanation can be provided for the event and a joint movement can be started for mutual support and strength, as has occurred in natural disasters and terrorism incidents.
The helplessness caused by armed conflicts and power conflicts cannot be easily overcome, because there will always be those in power who are afraid of the consequences and will use a variety of means to maintain that feeling of powerlessness. Much empirical evidence exist that point to such efforts in the last decade of Indonesian politics.
Unfortunately, such people find an opportunity to reemerge with renewed energy when the country is under the rule of a civil government, led by a civilian who hails from the community of survivors. When hoaxes, hate speech, identity politics and other techniques to pit one against the other are used in power struggles, all negative issues ranging from foreign workers to LGBT to the criminalization of ulema end in "P-K-I".
Responding and not responding were equally wrong. As a result, narratives like this found a space that was vast enough to host the return of the monster.
When these issues were raised in an aggressive manner, the majority of people in the nation, including intellectuals, was shocked and did not to know what to do. Responding and not responding were equally wrong. As a result, narratives like this found a space that was vast enough to host the return of the monster.
Momentum for reconciliation
Indonesia has gained some momentum towards national reconciliation. In 1998, the New Order regime fell and spurred an enormous political momentum. The political and economic crisis again pitted the people against a power that was deemed authoritarian and corrupt.
The elements of power at that time still used the PKI narrative to intimidate, silence or turn off critical voices – especially from the younger generation. The difference was that the civil movement had gained the support of part of the armed forces and the political elite so that massive and widespread bloodshed did not occur.
Even though the communication technology then was not as advanced as it is today, the internet revolution in the 1990s provided new sources of knowledge about the history of nations, including Indonesia. More than that, the improving economy also provided an opportunity for new generations of smart people to study in superpower countries. They also helped enlighten the intellectuals and enthusiasts of Indonesia’s modern history.
After the reformasi (reform), the PKI narrative became a part of history that needed to be studied critically, not feared.
The struggle against the New Order gave rise to new narratives that are increasingly gaining credibility and space for discourse. This narrative revealed various historical facts that those who were accused of being PKI – and even killed – were poor ordinary folk who knew nothing about what was going on. The G30S/PKI began to be considered as a political conflict among the armed forces elite in which foreign forces had intervened. After the reformasi (reform), the PKI narrative became a part of history that needed to be studied critically, not feared.
The years from 1998 to 2005, under the changes made by civilian presidents B.J. Habibie and Abdurrahman Wahid, to Megawati Soekarnoputri, was a period of economic and political stabilization. Habibie and Abdurrahman Wahid were the presidents of the Republic of Indonesia to adopt the biggest part of the UN convention on human rights, which then gave birth to Article 28 in the 4th amendment to the 1945 Constitution as well as a variety of laws to protect human rights.
Appeals gained political momentum to resolve past gross human rights violations, including the G30S/PKI traged, the kidnapping and extrajudicial killings of students, laborers, activists and journalists in 1998. This was necessary because of the ongoing conflict in Aceh and the emergence of new armed conflicts in Ambon, Maluku and Poso. These conflicts inherited from the New Order regime could strangle national development efforts if a comprehensive and fair resolution is not attained. Building on the rubble of distrust and hatred among citizens is very difficult to do.
Culture of impunity
Unfortunately, this momentum has only produced a small resolution. Annie Pohlman, a researcher and lecturer at Australia’s University of Queensland, said in her paper that through the two terms of the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) administration, the culture of impunity was still valid, even though hopes soared that the state would protect the people. The perpetrators of crimes against humanity were not given the proper punishment. Many cases were still not investigated.
Their effect is almost unchanged, frightening and confusing the younger generation.
Indeed, SBY had succeeded in stabilizing Aceh, Maluku and Poso – achievements that must be recognized – but the historical memory of the PKI that haunts any criticism and resistance against the government has not faded. Every time there is a political event, such as a general election, the monsters hiding under the subconscious of all Indonesians born after 1965 reemerge, colored with identity and religious politics. Their effect is almost unchanged, frightening and confusing the younger generation.
Moving towards an advanced Indonesia
The 2019 election is a historical event that will be the subject of academic studies for quite some time. This is the time for us to close the book of the past and head towards an advanced "New Indonesia". Development will focus on human resources. Of course, the human resources to be developed are those who possess national and global insight, are intelligent, critical, dare to take risks, and are able to find strength in their own culture.
The problem, as explained above, is that the souls of the next generation that are to become human capital are mostly the "injured souls" of past conflicts who are trapped in the old and narrow narratives of religious identity politics.
How to resolve this? There are at least three prerequisites that the government, the political elite and intellectuals must meet. First, bringing peace to this nation in terms of its past violence. Legal efforts and forgiveness are the best practices in other countries that have experienced the same thing. We must build a new, optimistic and empowered identity.
Second, build a narrative of fellowship, cooperation, respect for differences (building pride as a nation of diversity), and create a sense of security in public participation as a checks-and-balances for government and power.
Third, make a full political commitment to reclaim public spaces, learning spaces, creative-productive spaces, and other spaces for building fellowship and tolerance that were previously dominated by divisive primordial politics. In this case, zero tolerance must be encouraged. Do not allow the spaces in the family, classrooms, lecture halls and public discourse be co-opted again by narrow nationalism and black-and-white primordial identity politics.
Building a tough nation
Reconciliation is a process. Its hoped-for result is a strong, resilient nation; a nation that can solve its problems without destroying itself. Development efforts must therefore go far beyond short-term reconciliation and reach out towards past traumas.
Nevertheless, it is to be fully expected that these efforts will encounters difficulties in formulating modalities and mediums. Therefore, the government’s strong political will is needed in enforcing the existing laws.
Invest broadly and seriously in inclusive education and labor market mechanisms. Use our human rights legislative framework to harmonize laws that are inclusive, and develop their mechanisms and infrastructure. These two things are needed to ensure that Indonesian children learn to cooperate with and respect all, even those who have different views on life. We are not teaching our children artificial democratization, because these values exist in the major religions and traditional values of the archipelago.
In the political sphere, solve the problems of restorative justice in conflict areas. Work with young people, because they are the keepers of the future. Therefore, they must also take part in fighting for their future. Becoming a strong nation is impossible without hard work and sacrifice. We have the capital: The 2019 election proved that the voices of rationale, nationalism and dignity succeeded in overthrowing irrationality, primordial arrogance and imagined power.
Irwanto, Professor, Psychology Department, Atma Jaya Catholic University, Jakarta
