FOR MY ADICS WHICH BECOME AFTER THE NEW ORDER .....
AND FOR YOU .... WHO READ FORGET .....
Testimony Nezar Patria, TEMPO 2008
There were orders during the New Order period, to kidnap a number of student activists. Four of those kidnapped
have not returned to this day. Tempo journalist Nezar Patria, in 1997 was an Indonesian Student Solidarity for
Democracy activist who was one of the survivors of the abduction.
The incident happened ten years ago, but everything is still wet in the memory. The four of us: Aan Rusdianto,
Mugiyanto, Peter Bima Anugerah, and I are members of the Solidarity of Indonesian Students for Democracy **(SMID)**.
Only ten days we live in the apartment Klender, Duren Sawit, East Jakarta it.
No neighbor knows that we are members of the anti-dictatorship movement. At that time, in March 1998,
Indonesian politics was hot. In the midst of student protests, the MPR General Assembly again appointed
Soeharto as President. On campus, the movement against the New Order regime increasingly prevalent. Every
day, anger burns all over the country. Cities were wrapped in leaflets, banners and posters.
Indonesia is split: pro or anti-Suharto.
Since being accused of being the mastermind of the July 27, 1996 (but never proven in court) riots, SMID and all
organizations affiliated to the People's Democratic Party (PRD) are declared by the government as a forbidden
organization. Since then, our lives have been forced to change. We were hunted by the New Order security apparatus.
So, there is no other way but to move underground style. Real name changed alias. Every time you move home,
mustas a book dealer or other.
But the underground adventure stopped on March 13, 1998. That night, around seven o'clock, I had just returned
from the University of Indonesia, Depok. There was a student meeting that afternoon there. Aan, Diponegoro
University student of Semarang already at home. After showering, I hit the water. Mugiyanto promised to come home
in an hour, and he'll buy dinner. Meanwhile, Bima Peter suggested to go home rather late.
Suddenly there was a knock. As soon as Aan opened the door, four tall men pushed in. They ambushed and twisted Aan's hand. I am surprised. I glanced at the window. We were on the second floor, and below there a number of "uninvited guests" were waiting. They wear seibo (wool face cover), but rolled to the top of the cranium.
Their faces are still visible. "Want to find whom?" I asked. "Do not ask, come along," snapped a man. After grabbing Aan, the other two flanking me.
We were led down the stairs. I kinda struggled, but quickly someone pulled a gun. Instantly, my awareness speaks: I was kidnapped! And two Kijang cars are waiting downstairs.
Inside the car, my eyes were covered with black cloth. Then they covered my head with the seibo. I also feel they are
doing the same thing to Aan. My wallet is checked. Damn, they got my ID with real name. "Well, right, he's Nezar,
secretary general of SMID!" One of them shouted.
In the car, they're all muffled. Glass is tightly closed. The song house music played in a thud. Then the vehicle darted,
and stopped an hour later. Unclear in which area. A squeaky talkie voice squeaked, "Pigeon, pigeon." Presumably
that's sort of their code. Apparently, they asked for the gate to be opened.
Our eyes were still tightly closed as it was ushered into the room. The air conditioner felt stabbing bone. There were voices of people, maybe more than 10 people. I was seated in a chair. Then, suddenly a punch hit the stomach.
After that, following a barrage of kicks. One hard hit landed on the body, until the folding chair broke. The lips are
warm and salty. Blood poured. After that, I was laid to the velbed. Left hand handcuffed and legs tied wires. They
asked where Andi Arief, General Chairman of SMID. Unsatisfied with the answer, the stun device began to act. With
ferocity, electricity also throw bones and joints. "You make a meeting with Megawati and Amien Rais, right? Want to
overthrow Suharto right? "Asked the voice fiercely.
Absurd. At that time, we support Mega-Amien against dictatorship. But there has never been a meeting with the two
figures. I did not answer much. They went berserk. One stun engine was dragged toward me. Then, my head was
overthrown. Electricity sting from thigh to chest. "Allahu akbar!" I shouted. But my mouth was stepped on. Blood
poured again. A strange chest makes my breath break. Huffed. I was half unconscious, but could still hear a reprimand
from someone to the torturers, so as not to shock the chest area. I feel very tired. Then fell asleep.
WHEN what time, I suddenly heard a deafening alarm. I gasped. Aan's voice roared. This may be the true temple of torture, where violent rites apply every minute. Alarms are sounded every time, along with electric batons that sound like a whip. I also heard Mugiyanto's screams. Apparently, he was "picked up" an hour after we were arrested. My heart pounded to hear he was beaten insistently. Again, they wondered if we were really involved in a conspiracy to overthrow Suharto.
For two days and three nights, we were held in that place. Torture proceeds very methodically. From the disturbing alarm sounds, blows, and mental terror. Once, after a few quiet hours, suddenly we were shocked by electric batons. Maybe it was midnight or early morning. Unclear, because eyes are closed, and time orientation disappears. At a glance, I think that the kidnapper is from a professional unit. They said that they had served in Aceh and Papua all.
Click. The sound of a cocked gun pinned to my temple. "Ready to die?" Whispered the kidnapper. By then the sun might have set. I'm silent. "There, pray!" My throat choked. Dying feels so close. No family knows that my life ends here. I surrender. I pray that this path of death is not so painful.
But the "execution" was void. There is only a threat that they will monitor us anywhere. Finally we were taken to a place. There was a handover between the kidnapper and another agency. Later, it was known that the Polda Metro Jaya. There the three of us were put into solitary confinement. One cell for each person with a fifteen watt lamp, no sun and morning gymnastics.
The first day in the cell, the trauma was so imprinted. I was afraid to see the wind door in the cell. I was worried, if the kidnapper was still outside, and could shoot from the vent. Apparently all the friends feel the same.
A week later, Andi Arief (now Commissioner of PT Pos Indonesia) was kidnapped in Lampung. After being held in place of "X", he was also stranded in Polda Metro Jaya. To this day, it has been a nightmare for us, especially remembering some lost friends and never returning home. They are Herman Hendrawan, Bima Peter, Suyat, and Wiji Thukul.
Following reforms in 1998, a Kopassus team called the Rose Team has been convicted for the crime of kidnapping. The Honorary Council of Officers dismissed former Army Special Forces Commander Lt. Gen. Prabowo as a high-ranking TNI officer. Prabowo claimed to only take nine people. Everything is alive, and has been released.
In 1999, the magazine interviewed Sumitro Djojohadikusumo, economist and Prabowo's father. He said Prabowo's kidnapping was on the orders of his superiors. Who? "There are three: Hartono, Feisal Tanjung, and Pak Harto," Sumitro said. So now do we, the people of Indonesia, have to forgive Suharto?
My prayer for friends who have not (or do not) come back.