Berikut postingan yang ke II tentang Pramoedya Ananta Toer. ====================================================================== >From: "Anies Baswedan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Reply-To: "Anies Baswedan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: "Bincang Permias" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Re: [bincang] Artikel Taufiq Ismail (masih soal Pram) >Date: Sun, 11 Apr 1999 00:22:25 -0500 > >Pengantar: > >Dibawah ini saya lampirkan naskah artikelnya Arief Budiman dan Taufiq Ismail >yang berkaitan dengan Pramoedya Ananta Toer. Naskah asli kedua artikel tsb >ditulis dalam bahasa Indonesia dan dimuat di harian KOMPAS tgl 14 dan 21 >Agustus 1995. Arief Budiman dan Taufiq Ismail memiliki pandangan yang >berbeda mengenai sikap "kita" terhadap Pramoedya, karena itu kedua artikel >ini -mungkin- akan bisa membantu kita dalam belajar membaca dan menilai >sejarah secara jujur. Meskipun mereka berbeda pandangan ttg sikap thd >Pramoedya, tapi kedua penulis ini sepaham dan menguatkan fakta sejarah, >bahwa ketika "berkuasa", Pramoedya berperan besar dalam menindas kebebasan >berkarya di Indonesia, suatu peran yang tidak pernah bisa dilakukan oleh >seorang sastrawan, budayawan, ataupun demokrat yang sejati. > >Salam, AB > >Note: Nomor catatan kaki ditulis di dalam parenthesis ( ) > > >REVENGE? >To Arief Budiman >(in response to Arief Budiman�s Kompas article, August 14, 1995) >by Taufiq Ismail > >--------------------------------------------------------------------- >There are six cases proving that those writers whose human rights were >trampled by Lekra, did not take revenge.... In response to Arief, Taufiq >said that retaliation now in 1995 is too late, 29 years late.... The episode >of Lekra and Pram infringed human rights during the guided democracy years >was not widely known, and those who know tend to forget.... Do not attempt >to block the prize for this great writer.... The Manifest signatories do not >wish Pram to apologize to them... This is Pram�s own problem with >history.... >--------------------------------------------------------------------- ------- >------------------------ > >Arief Budiman wrote �Pramoedya Ananta Toer, the Magsaysay Prize, and the New >Culture� (Kompas daily, August 14, 1995), in which he disagreed with the >statement signed by 26 writers sent to the Ramon Magsaysay Prize Foundation >in Manila, July 29, 1995. In some cases he held different views with Rendra� >s article �Magsaysay Prize and Pramoedya� agreeing with the statement. Both >articles were published in this daily at the same date. > >My name being mentioned twice in Arief�s article, I feel I should respond >with the following notes. > >Arief said that he never forgot what Pram did in the early 60�s, however, he >wants to be positive about it, and not take revenge. He discussed this with >the kiai, santri (1) and journalists in Rembang. Arief Budiman happened to >be in Rembang (a small town in Central Java). The host, kiai and poet >Mustofa Bisri, agreed with Arief and was of the opinion that to forgive and >respect human freedom is the basis of Islam. I would like to remind Arief, >that should one want to retaliate, the best moment was the last quarter of >1965 up to the end of 1966. There was no better moment than that. But we >(signatories and supporters of the Cultural Manifesto and the non-communist >writers and artists) did not do it, as we do not wish to copycat the Lekra >and their gang�s behaviour. > >Six cases >They proposed the banning of books to the Soekarno government and succeeded >in 1965. After the September 30th, 1965 coup we did not retaliate by >proposing the same thing to the government. In many instances we asked and >lobbied the Soeharto government to revoke the ban. (2) > >They launched character assassination campaign against non-Lekra / PKI >writers and artists, such as H.B. Jassin, Hamka, St. Takdir Alisyahbana, >Usmar Ismail, Asrul Sani (around 20 of them) in such a systematic way using >the foulest language ever in the Indonesian press of those days, in the >cultural section Lentera in the daily Bintang Timur, led by Pramoedya. Arief >should clearly remember, that after Gestapu, we never retaliated in the same >type of character assassination or smear campaign. > >When Pramoedya, Rivai Apin cs were detained in Buru Island, several writers >went there, among others Mochtar Lubis, Rosihan Anwar, Goenawan Mohamad, Bur >Rasuanto and Trisnojuwono. They went there as journalists. They all wrote on >Pramoedya in a sympathetic way. Bur gave writing materials to Pram, and >later on when Pram returned to Jakarta, Mochtar Lubis gave him a typewriter. >(3) > >The PKI and its mass organisations, such as Gerwani, Pemuda Rakjat, SOBSI, >BTI, CGMI, including Lekra, (4) rampaged the USIS library books in Jakarta >and Surabaya, piled them up with the �Manikebu� books and �ngak-ngik-ngok� >pop song records (inluding the popular Koes Bersaudara records) and burnt >them passionately in three places. After Gestapu we never rampaged any >library, we never retaliated by burning their books. >Bintang Timur daily, over-enthusiastically reported that two million >counter-revolutionary books were burnt at that time. I believe there were >two zeros too many -- at the most 20.000 books got into their fire. > >During the period of long repression on freedom of expression, Lekra / PKI >forced the implementation of their socialist realism ideology, their basic >philosophy to those artists and writers outside their camp. After the >September 30th, 1965 aborted coup we never retaliated by forcing any art >philosophy or ideology to anybody. > >Five months before Gestapu, on May 9, 1965 in Lentera, the cultural section >of Bintang Timur daily, in his article �1965 is the Year of Total >Annihilation�, Pramoedya launched a campaign to attack independent >publishers. The target of witch-hunting and annihilation, among others were >the one still daring to sell Dr. Zhivago, a novel by the Russian 1958 Nobel >Prize winner, and also the one producing books on Islam, written by Zainal >Abidin Ahmad. After Gestapu, we never retaliated by annihilating Hasta >Mitra, the publisher of Pramoedya�s books. > >Everything Lekra did was in the framework of the international communist >conspiration to take over power in every country they operate by using the >principle �the end justifies the means�. You can do anything to reach your >goal. After the September 30, 1965 coup, we never applied their principle >�the end justifies the means� method to get even with them. > >The six cases mentioned above, not to take revenge by 1) proposing to the >government to ban books, 2) character assassination campaign and >witch-hunting, 3) burning books and music records, 4) forcing one�s esthetic >or art ideology, 5) annihilation of adversary�s publishers, banning the >circulation or selling of adversary�s books, and, 6) applying �the end >justifies the means,� although should we want to retaliate in the same >manner the opportunity to do so was so wide open, but we did not do so --- >in my opinion as a whole it is identical with forgiveness. Can you >interprete it as a proof of respect toward a pluralistic cultural life? >Definitely yes. > >Hamka >Hamka, one of Indonesia�s great literati was a soft target of character >assassination campaign for about 2 years in �Lentera�, cultural section of >Bintang Timur daily, led by Pramoedya. Finally he was falsely charged >getting involved in a plot to assassinate President Soekarno and Minister of >Religion Saifuddin Zuhri, thrown into detainment without trial for almost 3 >years. He was about to be tortured by electric current, saved only by the >failure of the Gestapu coup, and the soft-spoken writer was finally freed. > >He was invited to give a talk at the TIM Jakarta Art Centre in 1969. In the >question and answer session he was asked on what he thought about the >banning of Pramoedya�s books, and his comment on Pramoedya who led the smear >campaign against him, destroying his personal reputation for about 2 years >in Lentera / Bintang Timur, following the charge being involved in a secret >conspiracy to kill the President and Minister of Religion, later spending >almost 3 years in detainment without trial. > >He stated that he was against banning of Pramoedya�s books as his life >philosophy is �isyq, love, and as to everything done to smear his >reputation, including the absurd political slander, all involved has totally >been forgiven. > >The silence of the audience at the Arena Theater was deafening. Novelist >Iwan Simatupang shed his tears as this celebrated writer and �ulama spoke so >ftly. > >I was close to Buya Hamka, who knew me since my teen-age years. He was my >fountain of wisdom and a great guru who patiently listen to his murid. I >thank Arief for reminding me now to be forgiving and respecting human >freedom, which is an essential foundation of Islam (through quotation of the >kind advice of �ulama and poet Mustofa Bisri). Thanks to Allah I did that 28 >years ago. My personal fear being mentally and physically terrorized by >Lekra, CGMI and Pemuda Rakyat, my academic carreer being extinguished at >IPB, which I sincerely hope not to reoccur in my children time nor in any >generation to come, as I consider it to be such a bitter and abhorrent >experience. I always try to consistently follow the path of my guru Buya >Hamka until I fade away one day. > >Manila >The Ramon Magsaysay Foundation ought to be reminded on the episode of >history when Pramoedya violated creative freedom of writers and artists in >the early up to the mid-60�s in Indonesia. Let alone those Filipinos, even >we Indonesians already forget, our memories got blurred on what happened in >the era of 30-35 years ago (read the �Letters to the Editor� by >Darmaningtias and painter Hardi, Kompas, August 14, 1995). > >It is important to remind them, because if we did not, to quote Rendra, we >will get involved in the faking of history. It is up to the Foundation to >respond as they wish. Arief interpreted the statement �to ask the Foundation >to cancel the award.� How absurd. It is nowhere in the statement that such a >demand can be found. If Mochtar Lubis said that he would return the >Magsaysay award that he received 37 years previously, if the Foundation >stays with their decision, that would be his right as an awardee. > >It is important to note that the Foundation is not an Indonesian one, the >money originally American (donated by the Rockefellers), the decision was >taken in Manila --- so why should we Indonesians be fussy about it. The >Foundation�s decision to give the prize to Pramoedya is his right, he should >enjoy the hard-earned money, and one should not prevent him getting it. >However, by extending the money, it implies that the Foundation in a way >pays him also to trample on human rights, creative freedom and democracy >since the beginning up to the mid-60�s in Indonesia, and the Foundation >should be reminded on this fact. They have been reminded. They stuck to >their original decision, and what they did was their right. > >Murayama >Rendra said, �... that Pramoedya should not deceive history. He should not >play tricks on us, on the young generation, on himself, by not admitting, or >avoiding the fact that he was once involved in a fierce battle for justice >by justifying all means contrary to democracy and human rights.� > >Many times people asked me, �do you supporters of Manifes Kebudayaan want >Pram to apologize to you? Wasn�t his extremely painful exile to Buru more >than enough?� The Buru Island episode was a very dark part indeed of our >history. The most important thing is not his apology to the people he >witch-hunted. By not retaliating in the same way, although they had the >opportunity, they already forgave him. > >The important thing is, is Pram ready to apologize to history? > >Will this great Indonesian writer, with his extra-ordinary creativity, >stamina and suffering, be willing to admit and apologize to history for the >repression he did in the past? > >A great debate had been going on for tens of years on the question whether >Japan was willing to apologize on the cruelty of their army occupying Asian >countries in the World War II. Wasn�t the extreme suffering of Hiroshima and >Nagasaki people enough? Wasn�t the horrible atomic bomb devastation enough >as a punishment? Wasn�t repatriation payment good enough as compensation? >The main question remained that, was Japan willing to apologize to history? > >It needed 50 years for Japan through Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, on >August 15, 1995, a few days ago, finally made a formal statement of apology >to history.*** > >(Kompas daily, Monday, August 21, 1995, translated by A. Salman) > >--------------------------------------------------------------------- ------- >------------------------ >Taufiq Ismail, poet, signatory of Manifes Kebudayaan and co-founder of the >monthly literary magazine Horison. He is doctor in veterinary science (IPB >1963), poet-in-residence at the University of Iowa (1971 and 1991), visiting >student at the American University in Cairo (1990). >--------------------------------------------------------------------- ------- >------------------------ > >Footnotes: >(1) Kiai is a respected teacher in Islam, santri is his student. >(2) Book banning has been an irony in Indonesian modern history. The >Soekarno regime banned the Manikebuist and anti-Lekra books. Lekra hailed >the ban. The Soeharto regime banned the Lekra and anti-government books, >even books written before one joined Lekra. The non-Lekra writers asked the >Soeharto regime repeatedly to lift the ban, unsuccessfully. >(3)When Mochtar Lubis and Buya Hamka were detained, no Lekra writers >visited them. >(4) PKI�s wing organisations for women, youth, labour, peasants, students >and artists. > > > > > >--------------------------------------------------------------------- -------- >To subscribe: send a blank email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >To unsubscribe: send a blank email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >This mailing list sponsored by http://www.webIndonesia.com >--------------------------------------------------------------------- -------- ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
