Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandar Lampung – Victims of the Talangsari tragedy urged the government on Friday to seriously settle the prolonged human rights violation case and pay them reasonable compensation.
They also asked the government to change the name given to the victims after they were labeled for years as rebels intending to establish an Indonesian Islamic State (NII).
"The Talangsari tragedy took place 20 years ago, but up to now the fate of our families remains unclear. Our children and other family members are unable to get jobs simply because we are already labeled rebels," Jayus, 61, one of the victims, said.
The Talangsari tragedy, popularly known as the Warsidi case, took place on Feb. 7, 1989, in Cihideung, Talangsari village, Rajabasa Lama district, in Central Lampung regency (now called East Lampung regency). A military battalion from the Garuda Hitam Military District Command in Lampung raided the Cihideung village from three directions in the early morning, killing hundreds of members of a prayer group led by Warsidi.
The raid was launched because a day earlier, an officer- the head of Way Jepara military unit Capt. Sukiman – was killed at the prayer site. Sukiman died after he was hit by poisonous arrows in his chest and wounded by a dagger.
The Indonesian Military and government officials said at that time that the prayer group intended to establish the NII. Warsidi himself was the son of one of the subordinates of Abdullah Sungkar, an NII figure who once fled to Malaysia.
Amir, 62, another victim of the tragedy, said he once was detained by the soldiers for 16 months. The Muslim religious teacher at an elementary school in East Lampung was accused of being a member of Warsidi's prayer group. After being detained without trial, his salary was cut by 50 percent.
"And I did not get my pension money. According to the head of the local education office, I had to get a recommendation letter from the detention center. I never got it, as I was never declared to have been freed from the detention center," he said. Azwar Kaili, 75, another victim, admitted his children and grandchildren faced difficulties getting jobs in both private and state-run companies because they were branded as dissidents.
"We ask the government to pay attention to our miserable condition. Our village does not have electricity, even though all neighboring villages have it," he said. "Our demands are simple: we just want our legal case to be settled, we want to be given compensation and we want our names rehabilitated," Kaili said.
Jayus further said that he was tired of struggling for the fate of his fellow victims. He and the other victims entrusted the case entirely to the Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM), which currently had difficulties investigating Lt. Gen. (ret.) Hendro Priyono, the former commander of the Garuda Hitam Military Command in Lampung.
Komnas HAM has not been able to investigate the human rights violation in the Talangsari tragedy because it has not been given permission to do so, unlike the Corruption Eradication Commission, which is given much more power to fight corruption.
The efforts to settle the Talangsari tragedy was also hindered by the fact that the government said that the tragedy victims were members of an armed group intending to launch a rebellion.
A commemoration of the tragedy will be held in Bandarlampung on Saturday. A get-together will be conducted, with Komnas HAM member Kabul Supriyadi, HAM activist Suciwati and victims of the tragedy in attendance. The meeting will feature a poetry reading by Lampung artists.