12 Human Rights Abuses Highlighted By Indonesian President - What Are They?

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said that he “strongly regrets” past human rights abuses in the country, outlining 12 events in Indonesia’s history...

On 11 January, Indonesian president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said that he “strongly regrets” past human rights abuses in the country , outlining 12 events in Indonesia’s history which he said constituted such violations.

“With a clear mind and earnest heart, I as Indonesia’s head of state admit that gross human rights violations did happen in many occurrences,” he told the media at a press conference at the presidential palace in Jakarta on Wednesday.

“I have sympathy and empathy for the victims and their families.”

The incidents, which span six decades, took place across the country, from Indonesia’s westernmost province of Aceh, to West Papua Province in the far east.

Collectively, the human rights abuses are thought to have claimed millions of victims.

What are the 12 Human Rights Incidents?

The Indonesian Communist Purge (1965 - 1966) - 500,000 to 2 Million Dead:

The anti-communist purges of the 1960s followed an unsuccessful coup attempt in September 1965. Members of Indonesia’s Communist Party (PKI) as well as communist sympathisers, ethnic Chinese, atheists, leftists, members of the Indonesian Women’s Movement (Gerwani) and other groups thought to be sympathetic to Communism were killed or disappeared from October 1965 to March 1966. The killings were alleged to have been ordered by the then-president Suharto and carried out by the Indonesian military. Over the years, declassified documents have shown that other countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom knew of and even supported the atrocities.

Further reading: How Indonesia’s 1965-1966 anti-communist purge remade a nation and the world

The Petrus Shootings (1982 - 1985) - 300 to 10,000 Dead:

The Petrus Shootings originated in Yogyakarta but spread across the island of Java and took place over three years in the 1980s. During this time, anyone suspected of being a criminal, or who appeared to have criminal characteristics such as tattoos, was ordered to report to local police stations. Those who resisted risked being gunned down and the killings were allegedly planned by the Indonesian police in an effort to reduce crime, with the corpses of those murdered left on the streets as a warning to others. Petrus is a mash-up of the Indonesian words penembakan misterius meaning mysterious shootings. 

Further reading: Suharto 'Cleans Up' Thugs Through Operation Petrus

The Talangsari Massacre (1989) - 130 Dead:

In the late 1980s, an Islamist group named Jama’ah Mujahiddin Fisabilillah established a community in a small village called Talangsari in Lampung, Sumatra. The group came to the attention of the authorities following clashes with the wider local community and was investigated by the Indonesian army, during which time a military commander and several other officers were killed. In retaliation, the Indonesian military stormed the village on 7 February 1989 and allegedly attacked members of the group, setting fire to huts to stop them escaping. According to a report by the National Commission for Human Rights, 130 people were killed. 

Further reading: No Justice In Sight For Talangsari Massacre Victims

The Rumoh Geudong Tragedy (1989 - 1998) - 378 Dead: 

Rumoh Geudong was a traditional Acehnese house located in Bili Village in Pidie Regency in Aceh. The home had been built in the 1800s but was used during the Civil Conflict as a concentration camp. Aceh was fighting a civil war of independence and, from 1989 to 1998, anyone in the local area suspected of being a member of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) could be taken to Rumoh Geudong by the Indonesian military and killed, tortured or raped. According to the National Commission of Human Rights (Komnas HAM), over 300 died at Rumoh Geudong with 160 still missing.