On Soe Hok Gie and Indonesia’s Never Ending Revolution
Indonesia’s economy and politics has been going down the hill since the start of the 1960s. The spiking price of staple goods, the rise of PKI, and the lack of leadership from Soekarno who continuously throw parties and events sparks the doubt of the people of Indonesia, especially the youth. The effort to overthrow Soekarno has been an issue since the G30S/PKI movement. Behind the rise and heated demonstration happening all over the country, especially in the capital city Jakarta, college students are one to be credited. After Soekarno abdicated, Soeharto assumed the presidency. Many praise him for saving the country from the hands of communist, but the decisions he made are no better than Soekarno.
The wave of protest begins with movement from the students of Universitas Indonesia (UI) with their signature yellow jacket, going to the streets to express their concern towards Soekarno’s regime. One of those students is Soe Hok Gie, an activist who expressed his thoughts in his diary that after his death is being published under the name “Catatan Seorang Demonstran’’. With his fellow student from UI, Gie initiated a “long march” to protest about the rise of price and all the wrongdoings happening at the time. He does not restrain himself from taking a dramatic approach to protest, for example laying his body in front of panzers (a type of tank) when face to face with army defenders of Soekarno. He reached his winning when Soekarno finally abdicated from the presidency seat and was replaced by Soeharto. Gie himself watches as his activist friends sit in “quota” seats in government in Soeharto presidency. The represif action that Soeharto took, and the way he quelled the PKI by doing massacres to those being linked to the PKI, and how the economy and politics situation are no better, disappoint Gie. To Gie, revolution is not finished when Soekarno abdicates. He continues in criticizing the government from his works and writings.
29 years after the death of Soe Hok Gie, Soeharto is being overthrown by students in a massive riot in 1998 as history repeats itself. The revolution does not stop just with the change of presidency. The revolution will stop when everything has fallen in the right places.
Reference
Soe, H., 1983. Catatan Seorang Demonstran. Jakarta: Lembaga Penelitian, Pendidikan dan Penerangan Ekonomi dan Sosial.
*this amateur piece was done as an assignment for a class in my IR study. should there be any mistake, feel free to contact me through my social media. cheers!
