Bung Imam

Nusakambangan. In early January, I brought my wife and toddler daughter along on a visit to the Nusakambangan prison. We went there to visit Republik Maluku Selatan — South Maluku Republic, or RMS — political prisoners. I wanted to show them that in this country many can still be jailed for holding different political views, some for as long as 15 to 20 years. In June 2007 in Ambon, these RMS political prisoners danced the Cakalele and raised the RMS flag in front of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during a seemingly innocuous ceremony to celebrate National Family Day. Yudhoyono was incensed. The dancers were arrested, and then tortured. In total, 68 people were arrested after the incident and sentenced for up to 20 years in prison. Unfortunately, this is not the end of the story. In 2009, the political prisoners were forcibly moved, away from their family in Ambon, to various prisons across Java including Nusakambangan. I was delighted that my daughter Kembang b...

Penampilannya ngaktivis banget. Kaos putih berkerah, berselempang tais dan berambut acak-acakan. Saat itu awal 2007. Suaranya masih keras. Ia datang sebagai peserta diskusi sama seperti saya dan mendengarkan penuturan Galuh Wandita , almarhum Agustinho de Vasconselos dan Patrick Walsh yang saat itu meluncurkan laporan kejahatan kemanusiaan di Timor Leste selama pendudukan Indonesia di Perpusnas, Matraman. Laporan itu berjudul Chega! artinya cukup, berisi testimoni ribuan korban dan saksi mata kejahatan kemanusiaan selama 25 tahun. Patrick, Agustinho dan Galuh mengajak audien memikirkan tindaklanjut laporan tersebut. Sesi tanya jawab dibuka. Pak George berdiri. Ia menandaskan kejahatan kemanusiaan di Timor Leste hanya bisa terjadi karena tak ada tentara yang dihukum atas kejahatan 65. Impunitas ini bikin siklus kejahatan kemanusiaan diulang-ulang. Di Timor Leste, di Aceh, di Poso dan di Papua. Dia menegaskan pentingnya mengadili penjahat 65 jika ingin kejahatan-keja...