Traumatic Burden of 1965 (Umi Sardjono's Last Years)

Dini Pramita Traumatic Burden of 1965 Monday, October 4, 2021 Former chairperson of the Indonesian Women’s Movement left the history of 1965 behind upon her release from prison. Umi Sardjono did not say much about the bloody event of September 30, 1965. arsip tempo: 179233733155.7978828 “After they were done raping me and I was weak and helpless, they dragged me to the street, naked with blood flowing from my genital as a result of the rape. I was paraded on foot to a police office around five kilometers away. Upon arrival at the police office, they tied me up to the flagpole, still naked, with blood still flowing from the vagina.” ITA Fatia Nadia read the confession of a woman, victim of 1965 from Medan, North Sumatra. Her rapists accused her of being involved in the murder of the army generals on the night of September 30, 1965, in Jakarta. The event is recorded in history as the September 30, 1965 Movement, or G-30-S. The New Order added the name of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) at the end, thus becoming G-30-S/PKI. Ita read the excerpts of an interview to Suharti Sumodiwiryo in 2005. Suharti, popularly known as Umi Sardjono, was the former chaiperson of the Indonesian Women’s Movement (Gerwani). Ita, Head of the Women’s Archive and History Room of Kaluyanamitra, had just finished collecting the stories of women accused of being involved with G-30-S, who were imprisoned without trial, tortured, or even raped, as told by the woman from Medan. Umi cried upon hearing the story. “It was all my responsibility,” said Ita, repeating what Umi told her. In 1965, Gerwani was accused of involvement in the kidnapping and torture of the seven army generals. In the Pengkhianatan G30S/PKI (The Betrayal of G30S/PKI) film, Gerwani activists were depicted cutting the generals with razor blade and dancing as soldiers dragged their corpses to the old well in Lubang Buaya, East Jakarta. From Ita’s investigation, the facts surrounding the alleged involvement of Gerwani activists in that bloody incident were very obscure and contradictory. During the meeting Umi asked Ita about her friends including Sudjinah, a journalist imprisoned with her in Bukit Duri Prison, Jakarta. They also used to live together in the same nursing home. Ita then showed an X-ray photo of Sudjinah ruptured uterus after being poked with an iron bar. Again, Umi broke into tears. “It was my responsibility,” she said while crying. The house that Umi Sardjono once lived in Jalan Tegalan III, Matraman, Jakarta, has been demolished and leveled by the new owner, September 29. Tempo/Nurdiansah Ita met the famous women activist at her home in Jalan Tegalan III, Matraman, East Jakarta. Umi lived with Sukirno in that house. According to Lilik Hastuti Setyowatiningsih, an activist from the People’s Democratic Party who once visited Umi for a research on the survivors of the 1965 incident, Sukirno worked in the education institution of the PKI during the 1960s. The house at Jalan Tegalan III belonged to Umi’s nephew, a notary. Umi was released from the Bukit Duri Prison in 1978, after spending 13 years behind bars as a political prisoner. Her former home at Matraman 119, as recorded in the membership document of the House of Representatives (DPR), had been taken over by the military. AFTER being released from the Bukit Duri Prison, Umi lived for some time at the Waluya Abadi Sejati Nursing Home on Jalan Kramat 5, Central Jakarta, that was officially inaugurated by Abdurrahman Wahid or Gus Dur in 2004. Gus Dur built the nursing home specifically to house political prisoners of 1965. Umi was among those who took up residence during its first year of operation. Lukas Tumiso is one of the nursing home’s current residents. He was a political prisoner who smuggled manuscripts written by Pramoedya Ananta Toer out of Buru Island. Lukas said, Umi shared a 3.5 x 6 meters room with Sri Sulistyawati, a former member of Sukarno’s Supporting Body; Sudjinah, a former journalist and member of Gerwani Central Executive Board; and Lestari, former Head of Gerwani Bojonegoro, East Java. According to Lukas, Umi was close to Sudjinah and Lestari. However, their closeness did not mean that they often conversed with each other. “When she had no business, she spent more time in her room, reading newspaper or magazine. She liked to read the editorial column in particular,” said Lukas. Umi Sardjono lying sick on bed at her house in Matraman, Central Jakarta, around 2010. Faiza Mardzoeki Doc. Because she was quiet, according to Lukas, other residents in the nursing home were often reluctant to strike up a conversation with her. Eventually, Umi decided to return to her home in Jalan Tegalan III after living for three months in the nursing home. Umi Sardjono died on March 11, 2011, at exactly 2am, at the age of 87 after repeatedly falling ill. According to Ruth, until the end of her life, Umi always felt like she was being spied upon by Suherto’s men. That was why she seemed to be quiet and cautious when speaking with other people. She was also traumatized by the guilt she felt because Gerwani activists fell victim to the purge by the New Order after 1965. Ita and Ruth Indiah Rahayu—the author of Umi Sardjono’s biography from the research institution IndoProgress—suspect that Umi experienced a torment that she never revealed to anyone. When Ita came to her house with Sulami Djojoprawiro, former Gerwani secretary-general, she heard Umi asking Sulami to forget about the atrocity in Bukit Duri. “Yu, let it become our secret,” she said. Umi was buried in Cipinang Asem Public Cemetery, East Jakarta, in the same lot as her husband’s grave. During her funeral, Lilik described that a young women draped jasmine flowers on the gravestone, which read “Suharti Sumodiwiryo, born December 23, 1923, died March 11, 2011.” When Tempo came to the cemetery last week, Umi’s gravestone was gone. The name Umi or Suharti could not be found in the database of Cipinang Asem Cemetery either. Her green-painted house has been demolished as well. Recalling her meeting with Umi Sardjono, Ita Nadia said that the former Gerwani chairperson was very staunch. Until the end of her life, said Ita, Umi never believed that the PKI or Gerwani was defeated. “We were eradicated, shut down, not defeated,” said Umi, as repeated by Ita. Dini Pramita [end of article; site navigation trimmed]