Why Indonesia is afraid of condemning dictatorships Aboeprijadi Santoso, Amsterdam
Under a flourishing democracy, a bill was recently passed condemning a dictatorship that persecuted and executed thousands -- not in post- Soeharto Indonesia, but in post-Franco Spain. What can we learn from democratic Spain's experience pursuing reconciliation? The Spanish state has for the first time condemned Gen. Francisco Franco's coup, and his 39-year dictatorship, and denounced the regime's crimes against its opponents. The bill has yet to pass the senate but is already regarded as a milestone in efforts to resolve issues which have divided the nation for too long. On July 17, 1936, rebel generals, among them Franco, seized power from the democratically elected, left-leaning government. A fierce and profound war (1936-39) followed, involving key state figures and social classes -- church against the state, land owners against landless, and fascism against elected socialists, communists and anarchists. Since Hitler's Germany and Mussolini's Italy backed Franco, and the Soviet Union helped arm the Republicans, the Spanish civil war became a precursor to WWII. Some 500.000 were killed or executed. Postwar Europe and the U.S. "tolerated" Franco's regime. Democratic changes only came after Franco's death in 1975, but past abuses were swept under the carpet -- until last month. In 2004 the state initiated a symbolic reconciliation, by inviting two icons of the civil war; Angel Salamanca, a former Franco supporter, and Luis Royo, an anti-fascist fighter, to attend the national parade. The political parties, however, boycotted the festivity. Franco's victims felt "dishonored" by the state invitation and the conservatives feared "disgrace". Neither a reconciliation with (former) fascists nor accommodating their legacy seemed acceptable. Prime Minister Josi Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's socialist supporters brushed aside opposition complaints the bill would "reopen old wounds". Spain suffered from her unique experience as a nation whose deep- seated schism -- and civil war -- were directly linked to WWII and enforced thereafter. Elsewhere in Europe fascist regimes were defeated, hence, reconciliation was never contemplated; today war victories are celebrated and psychologists are available for traumatized war victims, but Europe, in a sense, is still fighting WWII: Fascism survived in Spain and Franco's legacy remains so strong that this "war" must now end to maintain unity and resolve a burdened past. Reconciliation should be possible, that is, without opening the Pandora's box of public hysteria. Uncovered mass graves of Franco's victims have, since 2000, been used to attack the conservatives who suggest Franco's dictatorship was "moderate" and basically propose to forget the past. They were undermined while supporting the bill on Francoism, with what has been termed "the Law of the Historical Memory" (LHM). The so-called "1975 unwritten promise" that reportedly brokered Spain's democracy said if pro-Franco forces relinquished power after Franco's death, no one would be tried or pursued for past abuses. In 1977, an amnesty law assured no one would be held to account, but justice remains elusive without any prosecution for the "extra-legal" killings. In short, the message was, "let's forgive, not forget". Under LHM state funds are used to unearth mass graves and pay compensation to victims' relatives. The law also orders the removal of all Franco-era symbols from public places and declares the military trials that led to the execution and imprisonment of thousands of Franco's enemies to be illegitimate. The law's objective is, however, no longer to reconcile former foes, but "to recognize and widen the rights of those who suffered" in the Civil War and Franco dictatorship. "This law is the beginning not the end. Many victims died without justice," the pro-victim campaign leader, Emilio Silva, said bitterly. If Spain cannot achieve justice for Franco's victims, Indonesia's post-Soeharto experience will, no doubt, be worse and more complex. >From the point of view of victims, none of the cases of killings and abuse -- the greatest being the mass killings of 1965-66 -- have been resolved or brought to trial satisfactorily. Unlike Franco, Soeharto is still alive, wealthy and even influential. One writer, the late Sobron Aidit, called him, "the luckiest ex- dictator". Of his successors, only President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid ever expressed an apology -- a mea culpa (forgive me) to the victims of 1965-66 and Indonesia's East Timor adventure. Leading generals have from the outset (1998) stated their readiness for military reforms, but opposed prosecution for atrocities during military operations in East Timor and Aceh (an equivalent to Spain's post-Franco "1975 promise"). A compromise, in terms of a religious concept, islah, has been imposed for some cases (Tanjung Priok in 1984, Talangsari in 1989) while other cases (missing activists, May 1998, Trisakti, Semanggi I & II) were denied a human rights tribunal. The long overdue Truth and Reconciliation Commission has been revoked by the Supreme Court and left in limbo. In the case of East Timor, using the Joint-Commission for Truth and Friendship, Jakarta has opted to completely "forgive and forget", to bury the past once and for all. In almost all cases impunity, thus, reigns. Real reconciliation relies on deft political artistry. As Spain's and Indonesia's experiences demonstrate, the politics of transitional justice needs society's own initiative. While the synergy of a grave-digging movement and state-level politics have been fruitful in Spain, similar moves in Java (early 2000s) failed, and a serial of dialogs with and among victims in Yogyakarta (2005) was encouraging, but both lacked a political component. Indonesian scholar Priyambudi Sulistyanto argued such a dynamic from the bottom is important, even crucial in resolving past traumas and achieving reconciliation. A statesman's political will and grassroots support both are needed to make changes nationwide, he said. The writer is a journalist, formerly with Radio Netherlands.
