Susanna Harsono with schizophrenia paranoid

Susanna Harsono has been having schizophrenia paranoid since 1991.

Susanna Harsono, my sister, is visiting us in Jakarta. She lives with our mother in Jember, spending her Christmas holiday with us.

Susanna has been having schizophrenia paranoid since 1991 when she was 24 years old. She said she heard "voices" in her head, making it difficult for her to work even to sleep. Imagine if you have a noise of someone drilling or buzzing 24/7? 

She said she has this noise everyday. She could only sleep without such a noise after taking her medication. 

Sometimes she acts like a child, going tantrum if she is hungry or sleepy. She is always careful when her medication is running thin. 

But she takes medication every day, making her able to do household works. She is quite an artist, very good in knitting and coloring. I gave her a coloring book. I am pretty amazed to see how fast she does her coloring. It's quite a distraction from her chaotic conversation.

I am grateful that she has the government support to see psychiatrists at the Jember general hospital and to get the medication from a puskesmas (district clinic) near our family house. 

She was born in November 1969 in Jember. She has a twin sister, Rebeka Harsono, who lives in Tangerang. 

George Junus Aditjondro: Researcher, dissident, human rights defender, environmentalist

George Junus Aditjondro, an Indonesian anti-corruption researcher, academic, dissident, human rights defender and environmentalist, died in Palu, Central Sulawesi, this morning.

He is probably best known for his investigation of the Suhartos' illicit wealth published in 1995 when he was teaching at Satya Wacana Christian University in Salatiga, Central Java.

He was born in Pekalongan, Central Java on May 27, 1946. His father, Harjono Aditjondro, was a Javanese judge who met his wife while studying at a law school in Leiden, the Netherlands. Aditjondro senior had an adopted son, Ali Moertopo, later becoming an Indonesian Army general and a close aide to President Soeharto.

George grew up in various cities due to his father's job --Pekalongan, Pontianak, Banyuwangi and Makassar--  never finished his colleges --in Salatiga and Semarang-- but took his Ph.D from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, writing his thesis on the anti-Kedung Ombo dam movement in Central Java.

In the 1970s, he worked for Tempo magazine for a decade, writing especially on environmental reporting. He later worked for some NGOs such as Bina Desa and Walhi in Jakarta as well as Yayasan Pengembangan Masyarakat Desa di Irian Jaya in Jayapura, West Papua (1982-1987). He left Jayapura after the killing of his friend and neighbor, West Papuan anthropologist Arnold Ap, in 1984.

In 1987, President Suharto gave him the Kalpataru environment award for his works to prevent environmental degradation in Indonesia. A decade later he returned the award as a protest against human rights abuses and environmental destruction by the Suharto regime.

In 1991, after finishing his Cornell master degree, he began to teach at Satya Wacana Christian University in Salatiga. He was my mentor when I was studying in Salatiga. He finished his Ph.D from Cornell in 1993, writing his thesis on the anti-Kedung Ombo dam, a World Bank-sponsored project, in Boyolali, Central Java.

In 1995, he moved to Australia due to his Suharto corruption research. He taught at Newcastle University in New South Wales. He returned to Indonesia in 2002 after the fall of Suharto in 1998, teaching at Sanata Dharma University in Yogyakarta.

He is one of very few Indonesian intellectuals who write about almost every corner of this vast archipelago i.e. Aceh, North Sumatra, Poso, the Malukus Islands, East Timor, West Papua.

Biografi Ernest Douwes Dekker

Buku bermutu terbitan KITLV 2006 setebal 853 halaman. 

The Lion and the Gadfly adalah biografi E.F.E. Douwes Dekker (1879-1950) karya Paul W. van der Veur. Ia menceritakan DD memperkenalkan nasionalisme Indonesia lewat Indische Party. DD juga dikenal dgn nama Sunda sebagai Danudirja Setiabudi. Di Indonesia, banyak jalan diberi nama Setiabudi. Ia adalah referensi kepada DD.

DD kelahiran Pasuruan dari ayah  Auguste Henri Edouard Douwes Dekker, yang bekerja sebagai broker bank, dan ibu Louisa Margaretha Neumann, campuran Jerman dan Jawa. Dia sekolah di Pasuruan dan Surabaya.

DD dikenal sebagai seorang wartawan dan aktivis, yang kritis terhadap pemerintah Hindia Belanda. DD adalah cucu keponakan dari Eduard Douwes Dekker alias Multatuli, yang menulis novel Max Havelaar. Ini sebuah novel legendaris soal penindasan orang Banten, Jawa dan Sunda pada zaman Hindia Belanda.

Nasionalisme yang diperkenalkan DD tsb kini berubah menjadi nasionalisme yang kaku, yang tak mau memberi ruang kepada keragaman etnik, bahasa dan agama di Indonesia.

Halaman dimana Paul van der Veur bertanya dari mana Pramoedya dapat info bahwa J.C. Pangemanann sebagai mata-mata dalam tubuh Indische Party. 

Menariknya, ada bagian dari buku Paul W. van der Veur ini yang mempersoalkan campur baur fakta dan fiksi dalam Tetralogi Pulau Buru karya Pramoedya Ananta Toer. Ini sebuah bukti lagi dimana karya fiksi Indonesia memanipulasi sejarah. Mungkin karena saya biasa dengan jurnalisme --ranah fakta dan mensucikan fakta-- saya sering kecewa dengan karya-karya fiksi yang melakukan manipulasi terhadap fakta.

Tanggapan Indonesia dalam Sidang Umum PBB

Made Supriatma

Dari sisi gesture diplomatik, Indonesia sebenarnya ingin menunjukkan penghinaannya kepada negara-negara Pasifik yang mengangkat masalah pelanggaran HAM di Papua di Sidang Umum PBB. Ada tujuh negara Pasifik yang mempersoalkan masalah ini.

Dengan menampilkan Nara Masista Rakhmatia, diplomat sangat, sangat junior (bahkan saya sempat mengira dia adalah intern di PTRI!), Indonesia ingin menunjukkan bahwa persoalan ini tidak serius sehingga tidak perlu dihadapi dengan diplomat senior.

Sementara disisi yang lain, beberapa negara Pasifik yang berbicara adalah kepala pemerintahan: Nauru; Marshall Islands; Vanuatu; Tuvalu; Solomon Islands; Tonga. Penghinaan diplomatik seperti ini tentu akan diingat oleh negara-negara Pasifik dan tidak akan menguntungkan bagi Indonesia.

Negara-negara ini memang negara-negara kecil. Namun mereka adalah negara dengan hak suara di PBB. Republik Rakyat Cina lebih tahu nilai strategis. Mereka memperlakukan negara-negara ini dengan hormat. Mereka memberikan bantuan ekonomi dan tidak pernah sedikitpun melecehkan negara-negara kecil ini.

Mereka berhak diperlakukan dengan segala hormat. Mengapa bukan Menlu sendiri -- yang saya tahu hadir di New York -- yang memberikan jawaban?

Saya tidak tahu mengapa Indonesia bertingkah seperti ini. Suatu tanda kesombongan luar biasa dari sebuah negara yang bahkan pengaruh internasionalnya tidak lebih besar dari Singapura.

Tanggapan Indonesia juga disusun dengan amat buruk. Dengan mempersoalkan HAM di Papua -- dimana negara-negara ini merasa sebagai bagian dari bangsa Melanesia -- Indonesia menganggap negara-negara Pasifik ini melanggar dan melakukan intervensi atas kedaulatannya?

Para diplomat Indonesia tentu tahu bahwa persoalan HAM itu adalah persoalan yang universal, interdependen, dan tidak terbagi-bagi atas negara-negara. Intervensi? Indonesia menginvasi Timor Leste pada 1975. Itu saja sudah lebih dari intervensi.

Gesture diplomatik seperti ini adalah blunder diplomatik. Saya merasa kasihan pada diplomat yang amat junior ini -- yang kepintaran dan bakatnya tidak sedikit pun saya ragukan -- diperalat untuk berbicara masalah yang sama sekali tidak dia kuasai.

Perlakukanlah negara-negara lain sebagaimana layaknya negara berdaulat. Karena, seperti Indonesia, mereka adalah negara yang berdaulat!

Bagaimana Anies Baswedan jadi calon gubernur Jakarta?

Bonar Tigor Naipospos
Setara Institute

Seorang teman mempertanyakan kok Gerindra akhirnya mau mendukung Anies? Bukankan Gerindra masih geram terhadap Anies akibat pilpres lalu.

Entah kebetulan atau tidak, pertanyaan itu sedikit terjawab ketika bertemu dgn salah satu Ketua DPP Gerindra, dia menjelaskan sebelum nama Anies muncul, Gerindra sudah condong pada Yusril Ihsa Mahendra-Sandiaga Uno.

Nama Anies muncul diusung oleh PKS. Menurutnya ini krn faktor kedekatan personal Anies dgn Ketua PKS, M. Sohibul Iman, keduanya sama-sama pernah menjadi Rektor Univ Paramadina. PKS menyadari kader mereka spt Mardani Ali Sera dan Muhammad Idrus tidak terlalu menjual utk Jakarta.

PKS membutuhkan kapital politik tambahan yg bisa menambah pangsa pendukung mereka yg eksklusif. Sudah lama PKS berusaha utk menampilkan imej sebagai partai terbuka. Figur Anies berpotensi memperkuat imej itu. Karena itu PKS lah yang keras meyakinkan Prabowo akan Anies.

Pada awalnya keinginan PKS mendapat penolakan dari lingkaran terdekat Prabowo. Tetapi ketika mengetahui bahwa Cikeas menyodorkan nama Agus Yudhoyono, peta mulai berubah. Prabowo memendam kecewa pada SBY yang menyodorkan besannya pada pilpres lalu sebagai wakil, tetapi tidak mem-back-up sepenuhnya, termasuk dana kampanye.

Malah setelah diumumkan hasil pilpres, Hatta Rajasa kemudian menjauh dari Prabowo dan tidak antusias mendukung Prabowo dkk yg waktu itu gencar mempertanyakan hasil pilpres. Keinginan Prabowo agar ada koalisi kuat yang permanen di Parlemen juga terganjal karena SBY bermain dgn gagasan koalisi pengimbang. Krn itu ketika tahu bahwa SBY menyodorkan anaknya, Prabowo tidak mau dikelabui lagi. Apalagi kemudian Prabowo menelpon langsung Agus yg saat itu berada di Australia dan menanyakan keinginannya.

Agus menjawab dia sebenarnya tidak berkeinginan tetapi ibunya, Ani Yudhoyono, yang memaksanya. Pembicaraan antar Prabowo dgn Agus didengar langsung oleh beberapa yg hadir krn menggunakan speaker. Prabowo berhitung kalau yg maju adalah Agus-Sandi, posisi dia lemah, krn kendali menjadi di tangan SBY. Dia juga lihat alot bernegosiasi utk mengubah menjadi Sandi-Agus. Dengan waktu yang semakin sedikit, alternatif yg tersedia melirik Anies.

Kalau Ahok sudah pasti tidak, krn Prabowo sangat dendam.

Persoalan yg ada adalah siapa diantara Anies dan Sandi yang menjadi Gub dan Wagub. Kemudian bagaimana melunakkan lingkaran dalam Prabowo, terutama mereka yg disebut sebagai anak-anak Prabowo. Anak-anak muda yg jebolan akademi militer dan yang disekolahkan Prabowo. Dan terakhir jaminan penuh dari PKS akan Anies. Pembicaraan untuk itu cukup alot, tapi Sandi Uno sejak awal sudah menegaskan bagi dia tidak ada masalah apakah menjadi Gub atau Wagub. Dia juga sudah berkomunikasi dgn Anies. Untuk melunakkan penolakan dari lingkaran dalam Prabowo, tercapailah kesepakatan Anies menulis surat permintaan maaf kepada Prabowo, terutama sikapnya pada masa pilpres lalu. PKS sendiri menjamin bahwa akan mengerahkan all out organ partai dan turut menyumbang dana kampanye.

Bahkan, ini menurut kawan yg salah satu Ketua DPP Gerindra, dan sulit saya percayai dan sukar diverifikasi, PKS menjamin kepada Prabowo bahwa Anies sudah dibaiat menjadi anggota PKS. Tapi terlepas dari itu semua ini semakin menunjukkan krisis inertia partai politik. Figur-figur kuat dan senior masih mengenggam penuh kuasa partai. Masih perlu waktu bagi generasi politik paska orde baru tampil penuh. Apalagi klik dan nepotisme di tubuh partai menjangkiti.

Bagaimana Menulis Opini

Sebuah kelas menulis di Yayasan Pantau. Ini adalah alasan saya mengumpulkan berbagai macam opini agar siapa pun yang mau belajar bisa dapat bahan yang mudah buat dibaca.

Menulis opini adalah sesuatu yang lazim dilakukan wartawan atau siapa pun yang hendak menulis buat keperluan masyarakat. Biasanya, opini tersebut dikeluarkan guna memperjuangkan keadilan dalam masyarakat.

Bill Kovach dan Tom Rosenstiel dalam buku The Elements of Journalism menekankan pentingnya menunjukkan opini dengan jernih. Menulis opini, tentu saja, bagian dari jurnalisme. Namun menulis opini memerlukan lebih dari sekedar pemenuhan terhadap syarat-syarat dalam jurnalisme.

Ia memerlukan keberanian moral. Ia memerlukan keberanian buat bersikap sesudah verifikasi berbagai fakta dan analisis. Ia tentu tak dibuat dengan tergesa-gesa. Ia memerlukan pengendapan, memerlukan waktu.

Esensi jurnalisme adalah verifikasi. Kovach dan Rosenstiel menawarkan lima platform verifikasi:

• Jangan menambah atau mengarang apa pun;
• Jangan menyesatkan pembaca, pemirsa, maupun pendengar;
• Bersikaplah transparan dan jujur tentang metode dan motivasi Anda dalam melakukan liputan;
• Bersandarlah pada liputan sendiri;
• Bersikap rendah hati.

Semuanya tentu berlaku buat penulisan kolom. Seorang kolumnis akan punya sikap. Namun sikap tersebut harus didasari pemikiran yang terbuka, didasari pada sikap yang rendah hati.

Kovach dan Rosenstiel menekankan bahwa menjadi netral bukanlah prinsip dasar jurnalisme. Impartialitas juga bukan yang dimaksud dengan objektifitas. Prinsipnya, siapa pun yang menulis buat keperluan publik harus bersikap independen terhadap orang-orang yang mereka tulis. Menulis opini pun memerlukan independensi. Ia memerlukan keberanian moral.

Saya mengumpulkan belasan kolom yang saya anggap berguna buat belajar menulis opini. Saya membaca banyak opini dari berbagai cendekiawan di Indonesia, dari Soekarno sampai Hasan di Tiro, dari Sutan Sjahrir sampai Y.B.Mangunwijaya. Sebagai mahasiswa 1980an, saya tentu membaca Abdurrahman Wahid, Arief Budiman, Mahbub Djunaidi, Goenawan Mohamad dan lainnya.

Saya taruh berbagai kolom pilihan saya dalam blog saya. Saya sengaja terbitkan dalam bahasa maupun ejaan orisinal ketika mereka diterbitkan. Pramoedya Ananta Toer, seorang novelis (fiksi), menulis kolom The Book That Kills Colonialism buat The New York Times dalam bahasa Inggris. Menurut John McGlynn dari Yayasan Lontar, naskah tersebut ditulis Pramoedya dalam bahasa Indonesia dan McGlynn menterjemahkan ke bahasa Inggris buat diberikan ke Times. Sayang, naskah awal tersebut tak disimpan Pramoedya maupun McGlynn. Namun saya menganggap naskah tersebut orisinal memang dalam bahasa Inggris karena memang ia pertama terbit dalam bahasa Inggris.

Saya juga menerbitkan versi Inggris karya Julia Suryakusuma berjudul ‘Zinaphobia’, homophobia and the ‘bukan-bukan’ state karena Suryakusuma, seorang kolumnis The Jakarta Post, harian berbahasa Inggris.

‘Zinaphobia’, homophobia and the ‘bukan-bukan’ state (2016)
Julia Suryakusuma

Darino-Dumani: Kisah Cinta Yang Dibunuh (2015)
Made Supriatma

Obor Rakyat dan Kebangsaan (2014)
Atmakusumah Astraatmadja

Selamat Pagi, Sondang (2012)
Lilik Hs

Menyegarkan Kembali Pemahaman Islam (2002)
Ulil Abshar-Abdalla

The Book That Killed Colonialism (1999)
Pramoedya Ananta Toer

The Death of Sukardal (1986)
Goenawan Mohamad

Tuhan Tidak Perlu Dibela (1982)
Abdurrahman Wahid

‘Zinaphobia’, homophobia and the ‘bukan-bukan’ state

Julia Suryakusuma
The Jakarta Post
Xenophobia is the fear or contempt of anything foreign, right? It’s something that lately Indonesia has displayed plenty of, despite the fact that so much of our cultural, political and religious identity is not indigenous to the archipelago. Yes, including Islam, which came in the 13th century through Sufi traders from Gujarat, India.

Well, on top of xenophobia, now we also have zina-phobia. Zina? Is that a girl’s name? Nope, you are thinking of Xena, the warrior princess. This is zina (or zinah in Indonesian), which is Arabic for adultery or fornication, whether it be extramarital sex, premarital sex, casual sex and naturally, same-sex sex.

Islam — like any other religion — bans marriage between a man and a man, and a woman and a woman. Automatically, zinaphobia includes homophobia. In Islam, zina is considered haram, i.e. a criminal act, according to religious law.

So how does religious law creep into the Constitutional Court (MK)? Many of the justices want to have casual sex — any sex outside of marriage — outlawed. According to Patrialis Akbar, one of the court’s nine justices for the 2013 to 2018 term: “Our freedom is limited by moralistic values as well as religious values. This is what the declaration of human rights doesn’t have. It’s totally different [from our concept of human rights] because we’re not a secular country; this country acknowledges religion,” he said.

Oh yeah? There are 95 other countries in the world that do acknowledge religion, but still consider themselves secular, for example the US, France and Turkey — before Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan turned first president Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s staunch secularism into an Islamist authoritarian regime, that is.

According to Ahmet T. Kuru from Diego State University, there are four types of states: religious states (e.g. Iran, Saudi Arabia, the Vatican), states with one official religion (e.g. England, Greece, Denmark), secular states and antireligion states (e.g. China, North Korea, Cuba). Kuru places Indonesia firmly in the secular category, which aligns with the decision made by our founding fathers to protect Indonesia’s Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity).

Among secular states, there are two kinds of secularism: passive secularism, like in the US, which allows public visibility of religious symbols, and active secularism, like in France (and previously Turkey), which prohibits religious symbols, hence the controversy over the burkini ban.

Indonesia actually adopts passive secularism, like the US. But as many of our politicians and leaders are so fond of saying, Indonesia is not secular, nor is it religious.

This prompted the late Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid, Indonesia’s fourth president, to say Indonesia is a negara bukan-bukan (neither-this-nor-that state).

In Indonesian, bukan means “not”, but bukan-bukan means “absurd”! Hey, maybe it’s better to have an absurd state than an Islamist authoritarian regime that the likes of Patrialis seem to want to impose, stripping people of their rights.

Incidentally, Patrialis, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is precisely about moral principles or norms that describe universal, common standards of human behavior and safeguard them by law. You’d know that, if you just Googled it.

And you call yourself a lawyer? What a disgrace!

To think he was law and human rights minister from 2009 to 2011. His performance as minister was deemed poor and, in 2013, as a result of a lawsuit by legal activists, the Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN) stripped Patrialis of his position in the Constitutional Court. His appointment was considered to be lacking an accountable and transparent selection process.

However, in 2014 then president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono nominated him again via the House of Representatives, as Patrialis is from the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the then chair was Hatta Rajasa, Yudhoyono’s in-law. Nepotistic politics as ever.

Why are conservatives so hung up about sex anyway? Patrialis thinks adultery is the root of society’s evils. Well yeah, adultery involves rooting, but I could think of so many greater evils: violence, greed, hypocrisy and corruption, which incidentally, Akil Mochtar, the former head of the Constitutional Court, was indicted for, as was Suryadarma Ali, former religious affairs minister.

So much for Indonesia being a negara hukum (rule-of-law state). Maybe so, but it does not prevent legal institutions from being incompetent and corrupt. In fact, the reason they resort to moralistic exhortations is to cover up their gross failings. Talk about overcompensation.

Let’s look at what the law and the Constitution are supposed to do: protect citizens. All citizens, including minorities. The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community is a minority group whose rights are unprotected. If the law banning casual sex is passed, they would be criminalized just by the mere fact that they exist.

As in many other countries, the LGBT community in Indonesia is under constant siege. Sexuality has become a battleground for the confrontation between advocates of democracy and human rights on the one hand, and antidemocracy forces, which include conservative religious groups.

The most ferocious adherents of zinaphobia that have emerged recently come from the so-called Family Love Alliance (AILA), who appear to be more mainstream but are just as dangerous as the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), who use violence in their “moral crusade”.

Upholding LGBT rights means upholding democratic principles. Increasingly, the LGBT community has made successful alliances with other progressive forces, championing their cause as part of a wider struggle for human rights, freedom and dignity. This is happening worldwide, even in the conservative Middle East.

Fine, but it’s against Islam! Not really. Apparently there are no clear-cut verses in the Quran that unambiguously condemn homosexuality. Some even doubt the authenticity of hadith that denounce LGBT people. Currently the Rumah Kita Bersama (KitaB) Foundation, established in 2010, an Islamic think tank supported by activists from 30 pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) across Indonesia, is conducting a study of classical Quranic texts on the theme of LGBT. They plan to publish the results in a book in the middle of next year. Should be interesting — not to mention controversial!

The vision of the Rumah KitaB is “the realization of independent, intelligent, civilized and dignified social order that upholds justice and humanity, equality and […] diversity”. Sounds like a democratic vision to me, because in fact, democracy and Islam are totally in sync.

This means Patrialis, AILA and their ilk are not only undemocratic, but also un-Islamic!


The writer is the author of Julia’s Jihad.

Indonesian LGBT Activists Receive Free Expression Award

Andreas Harsono
Human Rights Watch
Last Friday in Jakarta two transgender people accepted an award from the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI). This was the first time the alliance had designated its freedom of expression award to sexual and gender minorities —and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

Since January 2016, the basic rights and safety of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Indonesia have come under an unprecedented attack following an onslaught of hateful and misinformed rhetoric from government officials and politicians.

Kanza Vina (left), a transgender woman, talks with Abhipraya Ardiansyah (far right), a transgender man, and Yuli Rustinawati (center), their colleague from Forum LGBTIQ Indonesia. Vina and Abhipraya received awards from an independent journalism union. ©2016 Human Rights Watch
I helped launch the AJI, a journalism union, in 1994 when Indonesia’s military dictator, Suharto – then in his 29th year of power – banned three leading weekly newspapers.

Receiving the award on behalf of Forum LGBTIQ Indonesia, a national umbrella organization, Abhipraya Ardiansyah, a transgender man, told the audience: “This [award] is not simply an appreciation of our work in Forum LGBTIQ, but also of our goals, the future of better Indonesia, in which we all work together to nurture freedom and diversity.”

Indonesia’s diversity has been a main talking point for President Joko Widodo’s administration – but his government has also repeatedly failed to protect Indonesia’s minorities from discrimination and violence.

At the ceremony, Ardiansyah addressed the keynote speaker, Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin: “Nowadays there is an attempt to criminalize LGBTIQ people through the Constitutional Court. I hope the government, including the kind minister, will see our difficult situation and support public education so that the public can understand and want to stop discrimination against us.”

Saifuddin, who earlier this year urged non-violence towards LGBT people but in the same breath suggested LGBT people were “mentally ill,” sat silently. This week he attempted to distance himself from the ceremony because it included LGBT rights activists – not the behavior one wants at a celebration of free expression.

The other recipient, Kanza Vina, a transgender woman, told the audience that when she reported bullying and sexual assault to her teachers, they told her it was her fault for being a “sissy and feminine.” Vina said, “The LGBTIQ movement is the youngest democracy movement in Indonesia. We learn a lot from other movements, from religious freedom to women’s rights.”

Indeed, Indonesia’s LGBT rights allies are strong, diverse, and many. As a peaceful demonstration brutally broken up by the police earlier this year showed, they are also ready to stand up for all Indonesians’ rights. The government should demonstrate the same democratic values.

"Seksualitas adalah sesuatu yang dalam"

Abhipraya Ardiansyah Muchtar

Abhipraya bersama penerima Penghargaan Suardi Tasrif di Hotel Sari Pan Pacific. Penghargaan diberikan kepada dua organisasi: Forum LGBTIQ dan International People's Tribunal 1965.

Assalamualaikum wr. wb.

Nama saya, Abhipraya Ardiansyah Muchtar, biasa dipanggil Abhi. Saya mewakili Forum Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer Indonesia (Forum LGBTIQ Indonesia) guna menerima Penghargaan Suardi Tasrif.

Kami mengucapkan terima kasih sebesar-besarnya kepada Aliansi Jurnalis Independen ... juga selamat ulang tahun, merayakan Deklarasi Sirnagalih.

Penghargaan ini membuat harapan kami lebih besar. Penghargaan ini menghibur kami ketika minggu-minggu ini, kaum LGBTIQ, dibanjiri informasi, propaganda dan kecurigaan, lewat media sosial maupun media mainstream, yang berisi ketidaktahuan soal seksualitas dari individu-individu macam saya.

Kami berterima kasih kepada rekan-rekan dari LBH Jakarta, organisasi yang senantiasa mendampingi kami, sejak 1973 ketika LBH Jakarta membela Iwan Robbyanto Iskandar untuk mengubah status hukum, dari seorang lelaki menjadi perempuan bernama Vivian Rubianti Iskandar. Bukan kebetulan bahwa almarhum Suardi Tasrif adalah salah seorang pendiri LBH Jakarta.

Kami juga berterima kasih kepada beberapa organisasi lain yang banyak membantu kami: Komnas HAM; Komnas Perempuan; Indonesian Crime Justice Reform; LBH Masyarakat serta Human Rights Watch.

Hadirin sekalian,

Saya ditentukan sebagai perempuan saat lahir. Saya lahir di Jakarta tahun 1991 dalam keluarga Muslim Jawa. Sejak kecil, saya dicekoki dengan aturan-aturan sebagai perempuan Jawa dan Muslim. Sejak kecil, saya dicekoki aturan-aturan tidak tertulis yang mengikat sebagai perempuan Jawa dan Muslim.

Namun saya ingat saat bermain dengan teman-teman, saya kesal karena tidak bisa kencing berdiri. Saya juga kesal karena tidak boleh ke masjid dengan teman-teman saya laki-laki.

Saat usia 5 tahun, adik saya lahir. Orang sering bertanya, ingin dipanggil apa saya nanti. Saya ingat, jawabannya hanya satu, “Mas”.

Namun orang tua minta saya dipanggil “Mbak.”

Ketika mulai sekolah, saya tidak suka harus memakai rok ke sekolah. Perlahan-lahan, pengetahuan saya yang sempit, membuat saya menerima dilabeli sebagai butch (lesbian maskulin).

Ruang gerak saya berubah ketika lulus sekolah menengah. Saya pergi kuliah di Fakultas Ekonomika dan Bisnis Universitas Gadjah Mada di Yogyakarta. Saya juga jadi wartawan mahasiswa di majalah Equilibrium.

Jadi saya kenal dengan jurnalisme. Saya biasa wawancara, mencari sumber, menulis berita piramida terbalik maupun feature.

Di Yogyakarta, saya potong rambut sampai hampir habis. Saya merasa nyaman dengan rambut pendek.

Namun, hati kecil saya tetap berontak. Ketika usia 21 tahun, saya menemukan istilah yang menjelaskan keadaan saya: transgender. Saya bertemu dengan seorang kawan dengan keadaan sama dengan saya. Tepatnya, seorang transgender, dari perempuan ke lelaki, female to male, atau trans laki-laki.

Setelah lulus kuliah, saya bekerja di Jakarta. Saya bertemu dengan teman-teman yang memberikan informasi tentang psikiater dan androlog yang biasa melayani trans laki-laki. Saya beruntung bertemu dengan kawan-kawan dalam Forum LGBTIQ dan sejak umur 23 tahun saya mulai terapi hormon.

Hadirin sekalian,

Seksualitas adalah sesuatu yang dalam. Ia tampaknya tak cukup dimengerti dengan pendekatan biner: lelaki dan perempuan. Ia juga tak cukup dikatakan sebagai kelainan. Kami sendiri tidak ingin ditempatkan dalam posisi dimana kami harus banyak bertanya.

Pribadi macam saya memilih terapi hormon dan operasi. Namun banyak rekan saya, individu transgender, baik laki-laki maupun perempuan, yang merasa nyaman dengan tubuh mereka, nyaman dengan pakaian mereka.

Ada Menteri Agama Lukman Saifuddin yang baik hati disini.

Saya mau menyampaikan bahwa selama 71 tahun Indonesia merdeka, orang-orang LGBTIQ tidak dilindungi juga tidak dibantu di Indonesia. Namun kami juga tidak dikriminalisasi. Pak Menteri tentu tahu ada anggota kabinet yang gay dalam kabinet Presiden Soeharto.

Kini ada usaha kriminalisasi LGBTIQ lewat mekanisme Mahkamah Konstitusi. Saya berharap pemerintah Indonesia, termasuk Pak Menteri, mau melihat keadaan kami yang serba sulit, sering dipojokkan, dan mendukung pendidikan publik, agar mengerti dan mau menghentikan upaya diskriminasi terhadap kami.

Kami bahagia menerima penghargaan dari organisasi jurnalis ini. Ia memberikan harapan kepada kami –sekaligus tantangan kepada para jurnalis—terhadap jurnalisme yang lebih bermutu dalam liputan minoritas seksualitas di Indonesia.

Penghargaan Suardi Tasrif ini bukan saja penghargaan terhadap kerja kami, Forum LGBTIQ, namun juga penghargaan terhadap citai-cita dan harapan masa depan Indonesia, yang lebih baik dimana kita semua bersama bekerja merawat kemerdekaan dan kebhinekaan.

Terima kasih yang sebesar-besarnya dan selamat malam.

Wassalamualaikum wr.wb.

Pidato Penghargaan Suardi Tasrif dari Aliansi Jurnalis Independen

Kanza Vina dari Forum LGBTQI

Kanza Vina, Yuli Rustinawati dan Abhipraya Ardiansyah Muchtar berbincang di Hotel Sari Pan Pacific sebelum menerima Suardi Tasrif Award dari Aliansi Jurnalis Independen. 

Selamat malam dan salam damai buat hadirin sekalian,

Nama saya, Kanza Vina, dari Forum LGBTIQ Indonesia. Saya seorang waria dari Bengkulu. Saya senang bisa berada di sini buat cerita kehidupan waria.

Saya kelahiran 1993 di sebuah desa di Bengkulu. Ketika mulai sekolah, makin tahun, saya makin sering jadi korban ejekan dan cemoohan karena saya feminin. Ketika pelajaran agama, saya menjadi “alat peraga" karena penampilan saya. Saya dibilang “umat Nabi Luth.” Kegiatan sekolah perlahan jadi kegiatan penuh ketakutan. Dulunya, saya berharap sekolah adalah tempat terindah untuk belajar, berkawan dan menjadi ceria. Tapi itu tidak terjadi dengan saya.

Saat kelas satu SMP, saya dipaksa oleh beberapa kakak kelas, sekitar 10 orang, melakukan oral sex. Saya mengadu ke guru. Harapannya, mendapatkan perhatian dan perlindungan. Namun guru malah menyalahkan saya karena feminin dan "bencong." Sampai sekarang saya masih trauma. Saya mau bicara dengan keluarga pun sangat takut.

Mulai saat itu saya malas untuk sekolah dan sering bolos. Lantas ada surat dari sekolah sampai ke rumah. Orang tua bilang saya berhenti sekolah saja. Saya berharap orang tua memindahkan saya ke sekolah yang lebih baik. Namun orang tua minta saya tinggal di rumah.

Setahun di rumah saya tanpa melakukan apa-apa. Saya jadi bosan.

Satu hari saya diajak kawan untuk ke kota Bengkulu mengadu nasib. Umur sekitar 15 tahun. Di Bengkulu, saya jadi pekerja seks buat bertahan hidup. Preman menjadi kawan juga musuh. Saya acapkali digebukin karena tidak setoran. Padahal saya tidak dapat tamu, makan pun susah.

Saya lantas bertemu dengan mak waria yang memberi tempat tinggal dan pekerjaan di salon. Walau tidak mendapatkan gaji, saya senang karena mendapatkan tempat tinggal, makanan, ilmu bersalon serta rasa aman.

Beberapa tahun di Bengkulu, saya bertemu dengan emak saya. Emak terlihat sangat kurus dan susah. Emak memikirkan saya. Emak minta saya pulang.

Saya kembali ke rumah berkumpul bersama bapak dan emak. Saya buka usaha di kampung. Dalam perjalanannya, ternyata abang saya tidak senang dengan kehadiran saya. Bapak mencari jalan keluar. Pada 2009, saya dibekali Rp 5 juta untuk memulai usaha di tempat lain.

Saya umur 19 tahun. Seorang kawan mengajak saya pergi ke kota paling ramai di Indonesia: Jakarta. Namun modal Rp 5 juta di Jakarta tak banyak nilainya apalagi hanya ijasah SD. Saya kembali menjadi pekerja seks dengan harapan dibayar mahal oleh pelanggan Jakarta. Pekerjaan seks di Jakarta pun harus berteman dengan preman dan Satpol PP agar tidak ditangkap.

Hadirin sekalian,

Tahun 2011 saya bertemu dengan sanggar waria remaja: SWARA. Saya merasa lebih tenang, belajar tentang tentang diri sendiri, tentang kawan-kawan waria, lesbian, gay, transgender, tentang miskin kota, tentang hak asasi manusia. Semuanya tidak pernah saya dapat di bangku sekolah.

Tahun 2013 saya memutuskan bekerja secara penuh dengan kawan-kawan di gerakan LBGTIQ lewat SWARA. Saya belajar bersama organisasi-organisasi LGBTQI lain termasuk Arus Pelangi, Ardhanary Institute, Jaringan Gaya Warna Lentera dan Forum LGBTIQ Indonesia.

Saya belajar bahwa seksualitas bukan penyakit. Ia bukan sesuatu untuk disembuhkan. Saya belajar dari banyak kawan bahwa seksualitas mereka sudah ada sejak mereka masih kecil. Ketika masih kecil perlahan-lahan mereka merasakan. Di keluarga saya tidak seorang pun yang waria kecuali saya.

Gerakan LGBTIQ adalah gerakan demokrasi paling muda di Indonesia. Kami belajar banyak dari gerakan-gerakan lainnya, dari gerakan kebebasan beragama sampai hak perempuan.

Kami belajar bahwa kita harus berjalan bersama, bergandengan tangan, belajar menerima perbedaan, demi Indonesia dengan Bhineka Tunggal Ika.

Jalan panjang dan berliku tetap ada namun kami percaya satu hari kita semua akan mendapatkan kemenangan.

Terima kasih kepada semua kawan LGBTIQ yang gigih berjuang, melawan ketidakadilan, berada di garis depan. Percayalah bahwa kamu tidak sendiri.

Terima kasih buat kawan-kawan demokrasi yang terus berada bersama kami melawan ketidakadilan.

Terima kasih buat Komnas HAM dan Komnas Perempuan.

Terimakasih kepada kawan-kawan dari Aliansi Jurnalis Independen yang terus berjuang demi jurnalisme bermutu di Indonesia.

Nasionalisme dan Pluralisme

Perayaan Kemerdekaan Indonesia di Kampus Mubarak bersama berbagai organisasi keagamaan, dari Islam sampai Kristen, dari Buddha sampai aliran kepercayaan. 

Nasionalisme adalah rasa memiliki yang bisa naik dan bisa turun. Ia bukan barang mati.

Kekecewaan terhadap Indonesia --terutama diskriminasi, ketidakadilan, pelanggaran hak asasi manusia, korupsi dan kerusakan lingkungan hidup-- bisa mengurangi rasa memiliki tsb.

Harapan akan perubahan. Pemimpin yang tulus dan berani. Penegakan hukum dengan adil. Mereka akan meningkatkan rasa memiliki terhadap Indonesia.
Nasionalisme adalah ideologi modern. Ia pasangan dari pluralisme.

Logikanya?

Tak ada bangsa yang homogen, yang etnik, yang agama, yang kelasnya, sama semua. Maka diciptakanlah "masyarakat khayalan" dimana pluralisme ditata dengan dasar kesetaraan: hak dan kewajiban sama. Semua warga dari masyarakat ini setara di mata hukum.

Nasionalisme tak mengenal mayoritas dan minoritas. Nasionalisme tak mengenal penduduk asli atau pendatang. Dia yang Jawa setara dgn dia yang Papua. Dia yang Sunni setara dgn dia yang Ahmadiyah. Dia yang heterosexual setara dgn dia yang gay atau lesbian. Dia yang lelaki, tentu saja, setara dgn perempuan.

Perayaan Kemerdekaan Indonesia di paroki Katholik Santa Clara di Bekasi. Mereka akhirnya mendapat izin mendirikan bangunan gereja sesudah mencoba selama 16 tahun. Mereka merayakan dengan sebuah misa dimana anggotanya pakai berbagai pakaian tradisional. 

GKI Yasmin dan HKBP Filadelfia merayakan Kemerdekaan Indonesia dengan ibadah bersama di sebuah sudut Monumen Nasional. Mereka bikin ibadah di lapangan sejak pemerintah daerah Bogor dan Bekasi menolak menghormati keputusan Mahkamah Agung memberikan izin bangunan gereja. 

Inspiring Quotes on Journalism

Fahri Salam, the editor of Pindai, as well as Benny Satryo of Media Indonesia daily and Endang Prihatin of Metro TV, visited me at home. We continued a light conversation about aspiring quotes on journalism. 

OLD time friends visit me. We talked about inspiring quotes on journalism. Perhaps, we could produce those quotes on mugs or T-shirts.

George Orwell: “He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past.”

Bill Kovach: "In the end, the discipline of verification is what separates journalism from entertainment, propaganda, fiction, or art."

Indonesian journalist?

Goenawan Mohamad: “Kemampuan membaca itu sebuah rahmat. Kegemaran membaca; sebuah kebahagiaan.”

Mahasiswa Papua di Yogyakarta

Oleh Eri Sutrisno

INI percakapan antara Gubernur Irian Jaya Isaac Hindom dgn Gubernur Jawa Tengah H. Ismail, yang disaksikan Simon P. Morin, kini komisaris PT Freeport Indonesia, serta diceritakan kembali kepada saya oleh sohib Mathias Refra, mantan wartawan Timika Pos di Jayapura.

Video intimidasi dan penyerangan terhadap asrama mahasiswa Papua di Yogyakarta pada Juli 2016.
Waktu Izaac Hindom jadi Gubernur Irian Jaya, suatu ketika beliau dapat telepon dari Gubernur Jawa Tengah. Ismail mengeluh karena ada beberapa mahasiswa asal Irian Jaya yang berkelahi.

Bapa Hindom, sesudah mendengar dengan seksama keluhan koleganya, menjawab, "Mohon maaf Bapa Gubernur, belakangan ini saya sibuk sekali, sehingga tidak sempat mengurus anak-anak saya itu."

Gubernur Ismail dengan takzim bertanya, "Sibuk apakah Pak Gub?"

Hindom menjawab, "Saya sibuk mengurus anak-anak Bapak, belasan ribu jumlahnya. Mereka datang sebagai transmigran. Harus disiapkan tanah, penginapan sementara, makanan, air bersih, sekolah, tenaga perawat ...."

Gubernur Jawa Tengah terdiam.

Bapa Hindom menyambung, "Jadi, tolonglah Bapa Gubernur mengurus anak-anak saya seperti saya dengan penuh kasih mengurus anak-anak Bapa yang pindah ke banyak tempat di Irian ini."

Buku "Jurnalisme Sastrawi"

BUKU Jurnalisme Sastrawi: Antologi Liputan Mendalam dan Memikat --editor Budi Setiyono dan saya-- praktis makin sulit ditemukan di berbagai toko buku. Ada dua kali cetakan buku tersebut. Edisi pertama, Oktober 2005 dengan penerbit Yayasan Pantau. Edisi revisi terbit Mei 2008 oleh Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia.

Kami pernah minta Gramedia menerbitkan lagi namun mereka minta kami harus beli 1,500 eksemplar. Saya keberatan. Ini membuat ketersediaan buku tersebut jadi menurun.

Persoalannya, ada saja orang yang menghubungi kami guna mencari buku itu. Ada dosen buat materi kuliah. Ada mahasiswa buat belajar. Ada wartawan buat bacaan. Saya memutuskan menyediakan semua naskah antologi tersebut lewat blog saya.

Saya kini sediakan semua isinya, lewat link ke website Yayasan Pantau, atau blog lain. Total ada delapan naskah dalam antologi tersebut.

Buku Jurnalisme Sastrawi dalam dua edisi: Gramedia 2008 dan Yayasan Pantau 2005. 

Pengantar:
Ibarat Kawan Lama Datang Bercerita
Andreas Harsono (2006)

Sebuah Kegilaan di Simpang Kraft
Sebuah kota kecil Aceh protes terhadap kegiatan mata-mata militer namun diberondong peluru
Chik Rini (2002)

Taufik bin Abdul Halim
Seorang warga Malaysia terlibat kegiatan militer di Ambon dan terorisme di Jakarta
Agus Sopian (2004)

Hikayat Kebo
Sebuah mayat ditemukan hangus bersama gerobaknya di belakang Tower Anggrek Mall, Jakarta
Linda Christanty (2001)

Konflik Nan Tak Kunjung Padam
Bagaimana majalah Tempo mengatasi masalah dan meletakkan budaya perusahaannya?
Coen Husain Pontoh (2002)

Kejarlah Daku Kau Kusekolahkan
Sebuah batalyon asal Kediri ikut operasi militer di Aceh Barat
Alfian Hamzah (2003)

Koran, Bisnis dan Perang
Jawa Pos punya dua harian di Ambon dengan perbedaan agama Kristen dan Islam
Eriyanto (2002)

Ngak-Ngik-Ngok
Band Koes Bersaudara hadapi kemarahan Presiden Soekarno lantas populer pada masa Orde Baru
Budi Setiyono (2001)

Dari Thames ke Ciliwung
Bagaimana perusahaan air minum Jakarta diswastakan Presiden Suharto pada 1997-1998?
Andreas Harsono (2004)

Kedelapan naskah tersebut terbit antara 2001 dan 2004 bersamaan dengan majalah Pantau. Namun ada satu naskah yang berbeda antara edisi pertama dan edisi revisi.

Pada edisi pertama, naskah saya soal majalah The New Yorker berjudul "Cermin Jakarta, Cermin New York." Pada edisi revisi, naskah saya yang muncul soal privatisasi Perusahaan Air Minum Jaya berjudul "Dari Thames ke Ciliwung." Pertimbangannya, ada naskah dengan tekanan pada bisnis dan ekonomi.

Selamat klik dan baca.

Match words with action on Papua abuses

Andreas Harsono

The Jakarta Post

Theo Hesegem of Wamena is a Papuan human rights campaigner who helped the Indonesian government to resolve past human rights abuses in the area.

The detention of more than 1,500 Papuan independence supporters on May 2 for “lacking a permit to hold a rally” speaks volumes of the government’s stubbornly problematic approach to dealing with dissent in the restive territory of Papua. This approach has for decades provided impunity for security forces, despite their abuses against Papuans and turned dozens of those exercising their universal rights to freedom of expression and association into political prisoners.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has promised Papuans a change, beginning with “an open dialogue for a better Papua”. But aside from the release of a few political prisoners, there has been barely any signs of meaningful change on the ground in Papua.

Jokowi’s December 2014 pledge to thoroughly investigate and punish security forces implicated in the death of five peaceful protesters in the Papuan town of Enarotali that month has remained unfulfilled. And the Indonesian bureaucracy continues to obstruct international media from freely reporting in Papua despite the President’s May 2015 declaration to lift the decades-old restrictions.

Last month the government announced a new approach to Papua’s long history of serious rights abuses and lack of accountability: It was going to try to resolve them.

On April 20 chief security minister Luhut Pandjaitan opened a one-week meeting in Jakarta, which was attended by more than 20 human rights activists and ethnic Papuan officials from Papua and West Papua, along with officials from the National Police, the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) and various ministries.

The meeting followed increasing international scrutiny of Indonesia’s human rights record in Papua, including a September 2015 proposal by the Pacific Islands Forum, a political grouping of 16 Pacific nation states, for a possible human rights “fact finding mission” in Papua.

The meeting aimed to develop a roadmap to investigation and resolution of a number of the region’s most serious human rights abuses. The initiative was a follow-up to Jokowi’s commitment in December 2014 to seek an end to human rights violations in Papua.

The government has compiled a 17-page report detailing 11 high-priority human rights cases in Papua that it aims to solve. They include the Biak massacre in July 1998, when security forces opened fire on participants of a peaceful flag-raising ceremony on the island, the military crackdown on Papuans in Wasior in 2001 and Wamena in 2003 that left dozens killed and thousands displaced and the forced disbandment of the Papuan People’s Congress in October 2011 that left three people dead and hundreds injured.

The government has also prioritized individual cases such as the disappearance of Aristoteles Masoka, the driver of murdered Papuan leader Theys Eluay in November 2001. Although Eluay’s body was found inside his car, and seven Army Special Forces soldiers were convicted in 2003 for the murder, Masoka has never turned up.

The list is an encouraging sign that the government recognizes the role of the security forces in human rights abuses in Papua and the need for accountability. However, mass killings that took place between the 1960s and 1970s, including a military operation in 1977-1978 against Free Papua Movement (OPM) insurgents that allegedly involved indiscriminate aerial bombings and strafing, have been deliberately omitted.

Papuan activists have also called for investigations into the killing of anthropologist-cum-musician Arnold Ap in April 1984 and rights abuses linked to the Indonesian security forces in the lead-up to the July 1969 UN-sponsored referendum that resulted in a much-contested unanimous vote for continued integration with Indonesia.

The government’s plan to resolve these cases involves deploying agencies including the National Police, the AGO, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and the military police to investigate. The plan specifies the need for compensation for survivors and victims’ families for incidents in which the evidence clearly indicates the culpability of government officials and security forces.

Insp. Gen. Paulus Waterpauw, the Papua Police chief, has promised to prosecute individuals implicated in those abuses. The government has yet to publicly disclose a timeline for these investigations.

Papua’s troubled history and ongoing serious human rights abuses demand a meaningful government response to both address the crimes of the past and to enact measures to prevent future abuses. The ongoing low-level conflict with the small and disorganized OPM obligates the government to ensure security for the population.

Security forces repeatedly fail to distinguish between violent acts and peaceful expression of political views. The government has denounced flag-raisings and other peaceful expressions of pro-independence sentiment in Papua as treasonous. Heavy-handed responses to peaceful activities have resulted in numerous human rights violations.

In the past eight years, Human Rights Watch has documented dozens of cases in which police, military, intelligence officers, and prison guards have used unnecessary or excessive force when dealing with Papuans exercising their rights to peaceful assembly and association.

The government also frequently arrests and prosecutes Papuan protesters for peacefully advocating independence or other political change. More than 35 Papuan activists are in prison on treason charges.

Human Rights Watch takes no position on Papuan claims to self-determination, but opposes imprisonment of people who peacefully express support for self-determination.

Papuans are likely to be skeptical of Luhut’s plan to resolve past human rights abuses unless the positive rhetoric is matched by meaningful investigations and prosecutions for those crimes.
_________________________________

The writer is a researcher for the Human Rights Watch.

"Religious Harmony" Regulations Creating Dissonance in Indonesia

Carnegie Council

AMBER KIWAN: My name is Amber Kiwan. I am here at the Carnegie Council. We are about to speak with Andreas Harsono. He is the Indonesia researcher at Human Rights Watch and a journalist who has earned international recognition for his work in human rights, social justice, and press freedom in Southeast Asia. We are talking about faith and difference in Indonesia.

Thank you so much for joining us today.

ANDREAS HARSONO: Thank you.

AMBER KIWAN: I wanted to go back just a decade and have you talk a little bit about the religious harmony regulation that was adopted in 2006. I know that you have done a lot of writing and talking about this topic, and I would love to hear you explain just what it is, how it's different from religious freedom, and how this regulation has impacted religious minorities over the past decade.

ANDREAS HARSONO: The concept that is being implemented in Indonesia in terms of religions, practicing faith, is what the government calls "religious harmony." What is it? It basically means that the majority should protect the minorities. Meanwhile, the minorities should respect the majority.

It is involved in various aspects of religious life, including building houses of worship. If you want to build a minority house of worship, you need to get the approval from the so-called majority. In Indonesia, of course, the meaning of "majority" is a reference to Sunni Islam. In short, if you want to build a church or a temple, or, in the case of Muslim minorities themselves, like the Ahmadiyya or Muslim Shia or the Sufi, they also need to get the approval from the majority, the Sunni Muslims. It also means the Sunni Muslims have veto power over the minorities.

But there is a footnote in this case. Eastern Indonesia is predominantly Christian. Places like Papua, Timor Island, Flores Island, and some parts of Kalimantan, they are Christian majority. So in those parts of Indonesia the practice is in reverse. It is the Christians which give the final approval in building other houses of worship, especially Sunni Muslim.

This is a dangerous trend in Indonesia. People always use "in the name of religious harmony," but in practice it is a veto power by the majority over the minority. It should be reversed, because the Indonesia Constitution of 1945 actually says we respect—we want to implement religious freedom, where every citizen has equal rights. In religious harmony, the majority has become first-class citizens and the minorities have become second-class citizens. That is the practice which is going on in Indonesia right now.

One last question: Where does it come from? The concept of religious harmony comes from an ancient Islamic practice called dhimmies. What does dhimmies mean? In the past it meant the weak, referring to the Christians and the Jews during the Islamic rule in the Arab Peninsula several centuries ago. They have to pay taxes, but they cannot join the war, meaning joining politics. If they have not paid their taxes, they have to leave the area or to convert to Islam. That is the very ancient concept which is being implemented in Indonesia right now.

Over the last 10 years, especially under the rule of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono between 2004 and 2014, more than 1,000 churches were closed down. What is the logic? The logic is, again, religious harmony. They like to argue that this particular area, either a regency or a city, is Muslim majority. Christians cannot build new churches. If they get a permit, even if they file a lawsuit and win a Supreme Court decision, they still cannot build their churches. Again, the concept is: Do not disturb religious harmony. Do not disturb harmony.

So more than 1,000 churches were closed down, including those that were established long before this regulation was enacted, during the Dutch time, during the Japanese occupation period, during the President Sukarno period. Many of them were closed down.

Also those that were renovating, again the local government and the Muslim majority can say, "Look, you are renovating your church. You need to get a permit. You need to pass this religious harmony regulation." According to the Communion of Christian Churches, at least 1,056 churches were closed down in a decade.

There is another logic behind it. Some Islamists say, "Christians are only less than 10 percent in Indonesia; Muslims, 88 percent. Meanwhile, churches altogether are 17 percent of all houses of worship. Meanwhile, mosques are only 77 percent of all houses of worship. So there is a balance. The Christians have too many churches proportionately. The balance is about 5,000 churches." This is what the most extreme of them all say—"You have too many churches here in Asia. You need to stop building churches."

AMBER KIWAN: I have also been reading some of your work about this rise of violent Islamic extremism in Indonesia. Can you talk a little bit about what has been happening over the past few years, and maybe tell us what groups are leading these activities?

ANDREAS HARSONO: First, there are growing regulations which discriminate against religious minorities, including the religious harmony regulation, including the house of worship regulation, including the blasphemy law.

The blasphemy law says that for anyone who commits blasphemy the maximum penalty is five years. Because they are discriminatory and, of course, they can be easily misinterpreted, abused, more and more Muslim militant groups take the law into their own hands. More people who questioned creation on Facebook got, under the blasphemy law, five years in jail. Someone who moderated a Facebook group on atheism got two and a half years. Three Sunday school teachers got three years for bringing Muslim students to a picnic with their Sunday school group. Those kinds of things happen, especially in Muslim conservative areas all over Indonesia.

If the Christians or the minorities challenge them, then violence might happen. For instance, it happened with Ahmadiyya Muslims. They challenged a 2008 discrimination against Ahmadiyya, but they were attacked. More than 30 of their mosques were closed down over the last decade.

Shia Muslim is another victim. Last year, 2015, was the year when hate speech and attacks against Shia Muslims was the highest in Indonesia.

Another victim is traditional believers, ethnic religions, like—we call it "the Jawa" for the Javanese ethnic group, or "Parmalim" for the Batak ethnic group.

Who are the perpetrators? Mostly Islamist organizations, like the Islamic Defenders Front/Front Pembela Islam (FPI) or Forum Umat Islam (FUI). They take the law into their own hands. There are elements within the national police and the military who side with them, who let their religious bias dictate how they deal with this religious problem.

AMBER KIWAN: Is there a connection to Islamic extremism in the Middle East and the rise there? I read some different research and accounts linking, for example, Saudi Arabia's fundamentalist form of Sunni Islam to the rise of extremist Islam in Indonesia. Do you think that this is true, and to what extent?

ANDREAS HARSONO: Many people believe that. Many people believe that the rise of religious intolerance and violence and abuses against minorities in Indonesia is linked to intolerant Islam rising from Saudi Arabia, especially with groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir or groups like the Salafist/Wahhabi movement in the Middle East, and also the Muslim Brotherhood from Egypt. That is one huge school of thought in believing that it comes from the Middle East.

In fact, two of the largest Muslim organizations in Indonesia, the Nahdlatul Ulama, NU in short, and the Muhammadiyah, the second-largest, they subscribe to that idea, especially the NU. This is the biggest Muslim organization in Indonesia. They launched their own campaign, their own brand, and they call it Islam Nusantara—Nusantara is another name of Indonesia—which basically says: "Look, our Islam is different from Islam that comes from the Middle East. We are trying to adapt to local culture. We have no problem." Meanwhile, they feel threatened by the incoming Islam from the Middle East. But that is one school of thought.

There is another school of thought which says, "Locally, grassroots Islam also has a problem in Indonesia because they discriminate against minorities." This is not the first time. There are four institutions which facilitate discrimination in Indonesia. The four are the Ministry of Religious Affairs, set up in 1946—again, a long time before all of this brouhaha from Indonesia; and the Blasphemy Law Office, set up in 1932; the Indonesian Ulema Council, set up in 1982; and, last but not least, the Religious Harmony Forum, 2006. There are institutions which were developed by local Muslims, Muslim clerics, including people who come from both the Nahdlatul Ulama and the Muhammadiyah. That is the second school of thought.

The third school of thought says that all of this increase of violence and intolerance in Indonesia comes as a combination from 9/11, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and now Yemen—all of the wars, the violence, the things that are moving a lot of ideas in the Middle East and South Asia also coming to Indonesia.

So there are three schools of thought in seeing this problem.

AMBER KIWAN: I believe that a lot of people had high hopes when the current president, Joko Widodo, was elected in 2014. Many people thought that he would try or be able to restore tolerance and peace. What has he done for minority groups? Have you seen anything positive since he has been elected?

ANDREAS HARSONO: I actually had dinner with him, and he asked me about how I see all of these problems from the human rights law enforcement perspective. I told him what I told you: There are state institutions which facilitate discrimination and there are discriminatory regulations, including the blasphemy law, the house of worship regulation, etc., etc. He was listening. It was about 15 minutes, quite a long conversation.

After that, he set up a task force at the palace basically to prevent religious violence. He thought that if things are controlled since the very beginning, it is better to prevent than to overcome a crisis. That is one thing that he did. He tried to prevent religious tension before it becomes too hot to handle.

But at the same time, he hasn't solved the ongoing problems, the legacy of his predecessor, President Yudhoyono. There are, like I said, more than 1,000 churches that were closed down. He did not reopen them, including two most high-profile cases involving a church in Bogor, outside Jakarta, and another church, HKBP Filadelfia in Bekasi, east of Jakarta. Those two churches have won a Supreme Court order to be reopened. But again, President Jokowi has not touched those long problems inherited from his predecessor.

Meanwhile, his administration, because of all this infrastructure which discriminates against minorities, already created one more decree in February 2016 against an organization called Gafatar. Almost 8,000 Gafatar members—it is a small sect—were expelled from Kalimantan Island accused of committing blasphemy, practicing a deviant kind of Islam in Kalimantan. Then the government discriminates against them, saying that they are deviant, they are committing blasphemy, and the organization has to be abolished. The practicing of this belief will be criminalized and the maximum penalty is five years.

So this machinery, this legal infrastructure, is still in place. President Jokowi should invest more political capital in undoing what his predecessor had done. It is not easy, I know that, because the world, and Southeast Asia in particular, is not at the right direction right now. Doing it might rock the boat too much. So he is moving pretty, pretty slowly. But I still have hope that he will do the right thing.

AMBER KIWAN: And what about women's rights? I know that women's rights have also been a problem over the last decade or so, if not longer, and women have been impacted by some of these Sharia-influenced laws and policies. Can you talk about some of the trends that you have seen?

ANDREAS HARSONO: A good indicator is that one-fifth of Indonesia—in all of Indonesia, more than 500 regencies—one-fifth of them have mandatory regulations for women to wear the hijab. They have to cover the so-called aurah. Aurah is mostly hair, but sometimes it is interpreted as chest, as hips. One-fifth of Indonesia have different levels of regulation. In some areas, women cannot wear long pants; they have to wear long skirts. In other areas, the hijab is appropriate if it covers the neck. But other areas regulate the thickness and the color of the hijab, and they have to cover the chest, in some areas even longer, covering the hips. There is an ongoing campaign to say, "We need to wear hijab"—many Indonesian women are now wearing hijab, but they say, "This is not Shari'i hijab," a hijab which is in accordance with the Sharia. That is one good indicator.

But at the same time we also see the rise of violence against women and girls, gang rape. We also see ridiculous regulations, like banning women to straddle a motorcycle, because if a woman straddles a motorcycle, they believe it will stimulate sexual whatever from men who see them straddling a motorcycle. Of course, it is ridiculous. In some areas, like in Aceh in northern Sumatra, they ban women from dancing, including traditional dancing.

Of course, at the same time, the Supreme Court refused a law petition to increase the minimum age of a girl to marry from 16 up to 18. Again, they recite the Quran.

Another issue is FGM, female genital mutilation. The government is now "regulating" that. Again, this is the legacy of President Yudhoyono, who decided to follow what the Ulema said, that FGM is positive. Of course, it is problematic.

Another thing is interreligious marriage is banned in Indonesia. It is strengthened. It comes from a 1974 marriage law. There was another lawsuit against this interreligious marriage ban, but the Supreme Court decided to uphold it.

AMBER KIWAN: Aside from the government and leadership and laws and policies, what are the attitudes you are seeing from the Indonesian people and civil society groups? Are you seeing changes in attitudes or any positive signs, like internal activism or anything like that?

ANDREAS HARSONO: Civil society in Indonesia is pretty strong. Of course, it involves a lot of Muslim organizations. We have Muslim groups like Gusdurian, after the name of Gus Dur, the nickname of the late president Abdurrahman Wahid. It is an organization which champions women's rights. We also have the National Commission on Women's Rights, which is a government body, very aggressive, very pro-women's rights, and also LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) rights.

Because of this, I am quite optimistic that Indonesia might not go down in a bottomless well, although I'm afraid that some provinces in Indonesia, especially Aceh in North Sumatra, but to a lesser degree also West Sumatra and West Java, are going into more and more formalization of the Sharia.

What does it mean? In principle, basically it means discriminating against women, LGBTs, and also discriminating against religious minorities, whether they are Muslim minorities—Shia, Ahmadiyya, Sufi—or discriminating against non-Muslim minorities, mainly Christians, because, unfortunately, it is the biggest minority in Indonesia, and also discriminating against traditional religion. This is what I am afraid might affect other regions within Indonesia.

Of course, at the same time, we have the influence of radical Islam coming from ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), from al-Qaeda. The number is not many—maybe only 2, 3, 5 percent of Indonesians believe in this kind of violent Islam, but 5 percent of 250 million people is still quite a lot.

AMBER KIWAN: Yes, it is.

We are just about at our time. Before we end, I wanted to see if you had anything that you thought is important that I missed, or anything to add, any last issues to discuss?

ANDREAS HARSONO: We are seeing a disheartening trend in Southeast Asia. In Thailand we see a military dictatorship. In the Philippines we see a Donald Trump-like politician elected president, Rodrigo Duterte. In Cambodia, a strongman, Hun Sen, has ruled the country for almost 30 years. In Malaysia we have Prime Minister Najib involved in corruption.

Southeast Asia is going into a new low nowadays. The fact that Indonesia is still having some positive steps forward is very important to be maintained and to be supported. That's why it is important for international leaders, especially from the United States or Europe, to help Indonesia moving forward, by pushing Indonesian leaders into the right direction, at the same time protesting and maybe behind closed doors telling the bad ones that they have to behave. If Indonesia can survive this new low in Southeast Asia, I hope in the next 10, 20 years it might affect the other countries in Southeast Asia, because, obviously, Indonesia is the largest country in the region.

It is also the denominators of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). If ASEAN can move forward, I think it is not only good for ASEAN members, also Indonesia, but also for the whole region, including the Pacific, China, the United States, Korea, Japan. But if there is a crisis in Southeast Asia, like what we had with the Vietnam War in the 1970s, 1960s, it will create another global problem.

AMBER KIWAN: Thank you so much. This has been fascinating. We really learned a lot, and I'm really glad that you were able to join us.

ANDREAS HARSONO: Thank you so much.

Ziarah ke Makam Abdurrahman Wahid

Kami sekeluarga ziarah ke makam Abdurrahman Wahid atau Gus Dur di pesantren Tebuireng, Jombang. Saya kenal Gus Dur sejak 1980an lewat dosen saya, Arief Budiman di Salatiga, yang juga kawan Gus Dur. 

Arief pernah menugaskan Wisnu Tri Hanggoro dan saya buat wawancara Gus Dur. Ia liputan buat jurnal Kritis. 

Kami menunggu Gus Dur di ruang tamu Nahdlatul Ulama. Saya lupa kami wawancara soal apa. Tapi ada cerita menarik yang selalu saya ingat. Ketika sudah giliran wawancara, mungkin kami bertanya terlalu panjang atau membosankan, Gus Dur ... tertidur. 

Gus Dur tertidur di kursi kulit dengan sandaran yang nyaman. 

Wisnu dan saya cuma bisa diam. 

Kami menunggu Gus Dur terbangun. Begitu terbangun, Gus Dur lanjut saja jawab pertanyaan kami. 

Saya takkan pernah lupa pengalaman itu. 

Ketika pindah ke Jakarta pada 1991, mulai bekerja sebagai reporter, saya lebih sering bertemu Gus Dur. Kejadian Gus Dur tertidur juga saya saksikan lagi. Pernah jadi panelis dalam sebuah seminar, Gus Dur tertidur tapi langsung terhenyak dan bicara ketika giliran ceramah. 

Isinya bernas. Saya selalu menyimak omongan dan gurauan Gus Dur. Saya juga melipout ketika beliau sakit, namun sembuh, dan sesudah kejatuhan Presiden Soeharto, lantas sebentar di bawah Presiden B.J. Habibie, Gus Dur jadi presiden selama 22 bulan.

Saya pergi ke makam Gus Dur untuk mengenang seorang kawan. Kami berangkat naik mobil sewaan dari Surabaya, sekitar tiga jam, mencapai gerbang "Kawasan Makam Gus Dur."

Ada museum peradaban Islam dalam kawasan ini. Ia masih dalam tahan persiapan. Gedung museum sudah dibangun. Saya duga koleksi masih diatur. Ia belum dibuka buat umum.

Tempat parkir luas. Saya hitung setidaknya cukup buat 100 bus. Ini belum lagi parkir buat mobil kecil. 

Makam Gus Dur terletak jauh di dalam kawasan ini. Ia terletak bersama makam-makam lain keluarga besar pesantren Tebuireng. Ada papan nama, terbuat dari beton, mencantumkan nama-nama orang dalam pemakaman keluarga ini, termasuk kakek Gus Dur, Hasyim Asy'ari, salah satu pendiri Nahdlatul Ulama pada 1926.

Menariknya, ada puluhan kios dalam kawasan ini. Mereka menjual banyak kaos bergambar Gus Dur, serta berbagai gelar kepadanya. "Bapak Pluralisme" adalah gelar paling sering saya jumpai di berbagai kios ini. 

Saya heran dengan keinginan banyak orang menjadikan Gus Dur sebagai "pahlawan nasional." 

Kaos ini menunjukkan bahwa Gus Dur sudah jadi pahlawan rakyat. Dia tak perlu dimasukkan ranah negara. Saya tak perlu mengingatkan betapa berbagai peringatan soal Gus Dur diabadikan, misalnya, sebuah klenteng di Gang Pinggir, Semarang. Atau sebuah kalimat Gus Dur di Monumen Nasional, Jakarta. Ini belum lagi berupa munculnya Gusdurian Network --sebuah jaringan orang muda di seluruh Indonesia yang mendapat inspirasi dari Gus Dur. 

Pahlawan adalah ranah rakyat. Ia tak perlu dimasukkan ke ranah negara karena justru akan timbul percekcokan. Soekarno termasuk "pahlawan nasional" tapi banyak orang tak suka Soekarno. Saya ragu misalnya apakah Soekarno dihormati di Papua? Saya percaya Gus Dur dihormati di Papua karena dia tak pernah melukai hati orang Papua. Ranah rakyat inilah yang harus diperjuangkan buat para pahlawan.

Menurut Pusaka Nasional, Indonesia kini memiliki 163 "pahlawan nasional" dari Tan Malaka sampai Mohammad Mangoendiprojo. Kalau nama mereka dijadikan nama jalan praktis orang tak mengenalnya kecuali beberapa tokoh yang memang terkenal.

Tan Malaka dan Alimin, dua tokoh komunis Indonesia, masuk dalam daftar "pahlawan nasional" zaman Presiden Soekarno. Rezim Orde Baru tak suka dengan keberadaan dua nama tersebut dalam daftar. Nama mereka tak pernah dijadikan nama jalan atau nama gedung. Jangan tanya deh bila ada memorial Tan Malaka atau Alimin. 

Ini salah satu sisi buruk dari pahlawan dimasukkan ke ranah negara. Bila pemerintah tak suka dengan mereka maka jejaknya dihapus. Siapa tahu kelak ada presiden Indonesia yang nilai-nilainya bertolak belakang dengan Gus Dur? Pahlawan seharusnya hak rakyat, hak swasta, tak perlu diatur oleh negara.

"Gitu saja kok repot" ucapan khas Gus Dur.

Saya praktis membaca hampir semua karya tulis Gus Dur. Kolomnya buat majalah Tempo pada 1982, "Tuhan Tidak Perlu Dibela," mungkin karyanya paling populer. Tak perlu diragukan bahwa Gus Dur adalah orang yang membaca banyak, pengetahuan luas, elok dalam argumentasi.

"Gitu saja kok repot" menunjukkan ketidaksabaran, sekaligus keluasan pengetahuan, Gus Dur, disampaikan dengan humor. Layak sekali bila ia dijadikan kaos.

Pemakaman ini buka 24x7. Artinya, ia selalu ramai dikunjungi orang. Beberapa pemilik kios mengatakan mereka juga buka 24 jam. Hari ramai adalah akhir pekan, Sabtu dan Minggu, serta hari libur.

Saya kaget melihat betapa banyak orang datang ziarah ke tempat ini. Lahan parkir mungkin cukup buat 100 buah bus. Kalau satu bus rata-rata 50 penumpang, lapangan parkir ini cukup buat 5,000 orang. Sebuah kunjungan tentu tak sepanjang hari. Jadi jumlah pengunjung bisa lebih dari 5,000 pada hari libur.

Makam Gus Dur terletak dekat pagar pembatas. Persis di sudut. Ia tak diberi batu nisan. Saya diberitahu penjaga bahwa ini makam Gus Dur. Banyak orang mendekati makam, berdoa atau sekedar diam. Saya cerita pada isteri dan anak saya soal apa jasa Gus Dur terhadap mimpin kita bersama soal proyek bernama Indonesia atau pun apa yang dilakukan Gus Dur demi "Islam" --terlepas dari setuju atau tidak tentang visi Gus Dur terhadap Islam. 

Pada 2009, Gus Dur ikut meneken gugatan terhadap pasal penodaan agama di Mahkamah Konstitusi, menuntut agar pasal tersebut dihapus dari hukum pidana di Indonesia. Gus Dur berpendapat pasal tersebut akan selalu jadi beban buat masyarakat Indonesia, termasuk warga yang beragama Islam. Gugatan tersebut kalah dengan voting 8 lawan 1. Gus Dur kalah namun dia sudah memulai sejarah yang benar bahwa pasal tersebut adalah diskriminasi mendasar di Indonesia.   

Ada banyak bunga diletakkan di atas makam Gus Dur. Banyaknya orang yang mendatangi makam Gus Dur, apapun motivasi mereka, menunjukkan bahwa Gus Dur memang orang luar biasa. Dia banyak berpikir soal Islam, Indonesia, demokrasi, hak asasi manusia, terutama minoritas, serta kemajuan umat manusia. Dia salah satu cendekiawan Muslim terbesar abad XX.

Kaos ini bicara soal kuburan dan kesunyian namun makam Gus Dur jauh dari kesunyian.

Kaos Gus Dur juga dijual bersama kaos Hasyim Asy'ari, kakeknya yang ikut mendirikan Nahdlatul Ulama. Juga ada kaos khas anak muda termasuk band rock.

Ia dijual dalam berbagai ukuran, warna serta harga. Pemakaman ini akhirnya juga jadi sumber penghasilan buat cukup banyak orang di sekitar Jombang. Hitungan kasar saja, dari perdagangan kaos sampai makanan, setidaknya Rp 500 juta keluar di sini. Ia belum termasuk ongkos perjalanan. Saya bersyukur bisa mengenang Gus Dur dalam perjalanan ini.

Gus Dur memang hanya menjadi Presiden Indonesia antara Oktober 1999 dan Juli 2001, tak sampai dua tahun. Dia dipecat oleh Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat karena berbeda pendapat dengan berbagai kalangan elite di Jakarta, termasuk dengan militer serta beberapa partai politik.

Namun Gus Dur memainkan peran yang jauh lebih besar pada era dimana kepercayaan dunia internasional kepada Indonesia pasca-Soeharto pada titik yang sangat rendah dengan berbagai kekerasan, dari Aceh sampai Timor Timur, dari Ambon sampai Papua. Masa yang sangat sulit namun kekuatan moral Gus Dur membuat kekerasan tersebut tak membuat Indonesia ke dalam kesulitan lebih besar lagi.