Jakarta – Senior human rights activist Haji Johannes Cornelis Princen who died early on Friday after suffering a stroke, was eventually laid to rest at Pondok Kelapa cemetery in East Jakarta late Friday afternoon. He was 76.
Among those who attended his burial were activistsand law practitioners such as Luhut Pangaribuan, Muchtar Pakpahan, Hariman Siregar, Jopy Lasut and Gurmilang Kartasasmita. Also paying their respects at the burial were military veterans and friends from the movements of 1945, 1966 and 1974.
Princen passed away at his house on Jl. Arjuna III No. 24 in Pisangan Baru, Utan Kayu Selatan in East Jakarta after recently being treated at Cikini Hospital after a stroke. He is survived by his wife, Sri Mulyati and four children. Three of the childrenwere abroad.
Princen, a recipient of the prestigious Yap Thiam Hien Human Rights Award in 1992, had an extraordinary life history. Born in The Hague (Den Haag) on November 21, 1925, Princen, who had an extensive military background, was once an economic councillor of Teppemaand Vargroup Groothandel voor Chemische Producten in The Hague in 1942. He joined Stoottroepen Regiment Brabant and worked for the Bureau voor Nationale Veiligheid in 1945. He was once imprisoned in a German concentration camp and was moved to seven cities in Europe.
Princen, who was a member of the Netherland's military unit KNIL, then switched sides to join the Indonesian guerrilla fighters during Indonesia's struggle for independence against the Dutch. He also joined West Java's Siliwangi Long March in 1948 and was awarded the Guerrilla Star from Indonesia's first president Sukarno on October 5, 1949.
Due to his rebellious nature and unique passion for defending human rights, however, Princen was arrested many times under Sukarno and then president Soeharto's administration, including during the 1974 Malari incident.
Princen became a legislator in 1956 and became chairman of the Human Rights Defender Institution (LPHAM) in 1966. He was also among the founders of the Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI) in the early 1970's and was also a journalist for Netherlands Radio and several Dutch newspapers in Indonesia.
He also founded the Merdeka Labor Union (Serikat Buruh Merdeka) in early 1990. Among his prominent publications was his book "Riwayat Hidup di Negeri Belanda" (My Life History in the Netherlands) which was published in Dutch in 1989. The book drew controversy at the time within the Dutch community.
"We will miss him deeply ... a person of such fine quality, rich life experience and persistence in defending his belief in human rights," Munir, Princen's young colleague who is the foundation chairman of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims and Violence (Kontras), said over the phone on Friday