Generating History: Violence and the Risks of Remembering for Families of Former Political Prisoners in Post-New Order Indonesia
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Generating History: Violence and the Risks of Remembering for Families of Former Political Prisoners in Post-New Order Indonesia by Andrew Marc Conroe A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Anthropology and History) in The University of Michigan 2012 Doctoral Committee: Professor E. Webb Keane Jr., Chair Professor Nancy K. Florida Professor Rudolf Mrazek Professor Andrew J. Shryock ! © Andrew Marc Conroe _________________________ 2012 For Karen ""!! Acknowledgements A great number of individuals deserve thanks for the support, guidance, insight, and friendship they provided to me throughout this project. My first debt of gratitude is to the former political prisoners, children and grandchildren of former political prisoners, and activists in Jogjakarta who opened their doors to me, welcomed or tolerated my questions, and shared their thoughts and experiences with me; I am admiring of their courage, resilience, and spirited engagement with the complexities and contradictions of their experiences. I would certainly not have made it this far without the love and unflagging support of my family. My parents, Harriet and Henry Conroe, got the ball rolling many years ago through their encouragement, love of learning, and open-mindedness about their son’s international peregrinations. I’ve been lucky to have my brothers, Gabriel and Daniel Conroe, with whom to share adventures, stories, and music over the years. Jack Wittenbrink provided my teenaged self with a first glimmer of understanding of ethnographic sensibilities and the joys of feeling out-of-place. Elizabeth Nicholson’s accounts of shadow puppet theater and komodo dragons first turned my eyes and ears and thoughts in the direction of Indonesia. At Oberlin College, Paula Richman taught me valuable lessons in critical thinking and reading, led me closer to Indonesia by way of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, and encouraged me to continue my studies in graduate school. The Oberlin Shansi Memorial Association provided me with my first opportunity to live, teach, and learn in Indonesia, leading to many more wonderful experiences. """! ! My dissertation research was funded with the generous support of the IIE State Department Fulbright Fellowship and the Roger Dashow Fellowship Fund. Funds for the writing-up process were provided by the Jacob K. Javits Fellowship and the Oberlin College Alumni Fellowship. My dissertation committee has been a wonderful source of feedback, advice, and constructive criticism throughout this project. Webb Keane was extraordinarily generous with his time in reading drafts, and his comments and questions have challenged me and helped me push this project in new directions. Nancy Florida has, in the guidance she provided throughout my graduate career, her unparalleled knowledge of the nuances of Javanese life, and her critical yet sympathetic reading of my work, been an invaluable resource. Rudolf Mrazek has offered many a teasing question that has helped me think more seriously and deeply about the direction of my project. Andrew Shryock has helped me not lose sight of the forest in my fixation on the trees. A number of other scholars have been influential teachers and mentors over the years, and helped me to shape my research interests as I studied with and learned from them at the University of Michigan. I am particularly indebted to Julie Skurski, Ann Stoler, and the late Fernando Coronil. Margaretha Sudarsih, along with Nancy Florida, helped me to improve my Indonesian language proficiency in preparation for my fieldwork research. I also greatly appreciate the help provided by Diana Denney, the program administrator for the Doctoral Program in Anthropology and History; her knowledge and patience were of great value as I navigated through (and out of) graduate school. "#! ! Away from the University of Michigan, Mark Goodale, Mithi Mukherjee, Patricia Spyer and Debra Spitulnik all provided very useful comments on conference papers that were later incorporated into my dissertation. In Indonesia, I am grateful for the support of the Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia (in particular, Pak Ruben Silitonga) for my research, and for the assistance of Nelly Paliama and other staff at the American-Indonesian Exchange Foundation for in helping me to secure my permits and progress in my research. In Jogjakarta, Romo Budi Susanto at the Lembaga Studi Realino, Universitas Sanata Dharma, was kind enough to serve as my research sponsor. Sophia Wahyu Widiati in the Realino office was also extremely generous with her assistance, and was always willing to take a few minutes from her busy schedule for a cup of tea and a friendly chat. Syamsul Barry introduced me to the members of Fopperham, and popped in from time to time to offer thought- provoking comments on the evolution of my research. Pak Pujo Semedi in the Gadjah Mada University Anthropology Department invited me to speak to the department about my research, leading to a conversation that provided me with very useful feedback and ideas. Romo Baskara Widaya, Tri Subagya, and Monica Laksono at the Pusat Sejarah dan Etika Politik at Sanata Dharma University graciously offered me use of their resources and offices, and made sure that I was informed of discussions and seminars relating to my research. BS Rumanti was my patient and encouraging Javanese language teacher. Aan Kurniawan and Saiful Hakam lent their excellent transcription skills, and refrained from making fun of my poor use of Indonesian slang. Pak Suwarjo, Bu Wagirah, and Mas Budi Legowo were my kind and welcoming landlords in Nologaten. #!! Friends in Jogjakarta and elsewhere in Java helped make my fieldwork experience an enjoyable one, and they were just as ready to offer the happy distraction of a good meal or interesting excursion as they were to discuss my research project or help me make a contact. Goenawan Mohamad, Laksmi Pamuntjak, Irina Dayasih, Eric Hiariej, Slamet Thohari, Arifah Rahmawati, Aysan Harjono, Farabi Fakih, Sita Hidayah, Burhan Ali, Laine Berman, Kate Wright, Jessica Champagne, Nat Tuohy, and Isabel Call all deserve my thanks. Friends and colleagues in Ann Arbor provided support and good company throughout the years of coursework, and helped me stay connected as I was writing up my dissertation away from Ann Arbor. Dan Birchok and Lori Roddy provided wonderful hospitality and delicious home-cooked vegetarian meals on many occasions. Laura Brown was always there with a reassuring word, even as she was busy working on her own projects, and she reminded me that dissertation-finishing was an attainable goal. I feel fortunate to have stayed in touch with Jonathan Glasser, Yasmeen Hanoosh, and Xochitl Ruiz over the years, even as fieldwork and jobs sent us off in many different directions. Jennifer Gaynor has been a source of good advice since before I ever set foot in Ann Arbor. A number of individuals at Yale University made me feel welcome as an interloping ABD, and helped make the process of writing up in New Haven intellectually and socially enriching. As fellow members of our writing group, Omolade Adunbi, Richard Payne, Devika Bordia, Joe Hill, Brenda Kombo, Seth Curley, Durba Chattaraj and Lucia Cantero provided many helpful comments on chapter drafts. Sarah Cameron, Carmen Kordick, Yedida Kanfer, and Annette Lienau toiled in the trenches with me as #"! ! my writing companions. I also appreciate the interest that Tony Day, Frank Dhont, Joe Errington, Kevin Fogg, Indriyo Sukmono, Sarah Weiss, and Tinuk Yampolsky took in my work, and how they welcomed me so readily into the club of “Indonesianists around New Haven.” My final words of gratitude go to Karen Siegel, to whom this dissertation is dedicated. Her companionship, intellect, patience and humor enrich my life, and I am very lucky to be walking the road with her. #""! ! Preface: Research Setting and Methods I arrived in Jogjakarta, Central Java in March 2005 with a broad research agenda, intending to carry out fieldwork on the links between agency, political activism, and constructions of generational identity in contemporary urban Indonesia. Stemming from my pre-dissertation research on student activism, my friendship and acquaintance with many university students from my previous stays in Jogjakarta, and Jogjakarta’s reputation as a center of youth culture, my initial plan was to focus upon various student activist groups. Upon arriving in Jogjakarta, I rented what I thought would be temporary accommodations in Nologaten, an area on the eastern side of the city along the road to the airport. (As it turned out, I stayed in my rented house in Nologaten for the full fourteen months of my first fieldwork trip.) Nologaten sits in close proximity to the small Ambarukmo Palace and (now-closed) Ambarukmo Hotel, both belonging to the Sultan of Jogjakarta. Until the mid-1980s, the neighborhood was a quiet collection of homes set amongst bamboo groves, considered a “backwater” compared to the more affluent housing complex within the grounds of the Ambarukmo. In recent years, however, the neighborhood has become a densely-populated area of lower-middle-class homes, kos (student boarding houses), and small shops and food stalls. At the time of my fieldwork, the character of the neighborhood was changing rapidly due to the opening of the giant #"""! ! “Plaza Ambarukmo” shopping mall right at its doorstep. Although the close-knit Javanese kampung (neighborhood, village) atmosphere was maintained by the fact that many