Telling Stories about Torture in Indonesia: Managing Risk in a Culture of Impunity

Abstract

In this paper, I problematize the collection of survivors’ testimonies of torture at the hands of State agents in Indonesia. I examine the process of collecting these testimonies and address some of the many issues raised during fieldwork. The main issue is one of ethical responsibility and the risks associated with speaking about torture (and other forms of state-sponsored terror) in current day Indonesia. I begin by exploring particular encounters with past and present forms of danger during fieldwork undertaken over ten years across different parts of Indonesia. These dangers intruded upon the retelling of past experiences as well as threatened the capacity of survivors to speak about these experiences in the present. Lastly, I discuss how confronting the mass atrocities of the Indonesian past in the present are also affected by ongoing impunity for these and other crimes. In particular, I highlight how torture of detainees by members of the security forces is an ongoing and widespread crime in Indonesia. This culture of impunity surrounding the systematic abuse of detainees is a product of the torture perpetrated by State agents against an estimated hundreds of thousands of civilians across Indonesia throughout the New Order regime. Despite the promise of reform and democratization, successive administrations since 1998 have shown little willingness or ability to seek redress for these and other gross violations of human rights. Those who speak out about these violations are often marginalized and suppressed, at times through the use of further violence.