Jakarta unveils monument commemorating July 27, 1996 PDI-P violence
A new bronze sculpture marking the 30th anniversary of the July 27, 1996 PDI-P raid was unveiled at the party’s headquarters in central Jakarta.
On July 27, a bronze monument designed by Dolorosa Sinaga was unveiled at the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle headquarters, commemorating the 1996 raid on the party’s Jakarta office. Megawati Soekarnoputri, the party chair, activated the unveiling before a gathering that included former officials, human-rights lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis, former minister Mahfud MD, Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung, and other notable figures.
The sculpture depicts a woman with an open mouth, arms wrapped around five figures, symbolising the victims of that violent episode. Analysts point out that the monument is unique in central Jakarta for explicitly condemning New-Order repression, contrasting with the city’s many statues celebrating military leaders. Yet the memorial’s placement inside a party building, rather than a state-run museum or park, underscores the limited official reckoning with the era’s widespread human-rights abuses.
Why it matters
It shows Indonesia’s struggle to publicly acknowledge and memorialize New-Order violence.
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