Letter from Hidayat, In Prison in Makassar (Indonesia)
Dear comrades,
From the bottom of my heart and an ardent yearning to be with you, I wanted to write this short letter in order to let all my friends know that “a fire still burns in our hearts that cannot be extinguished”.
Being in this place is not something I wished for, but also it should not be a cause for regret. We are aware and we understand that rebellion against the State is vital, but it also entails risks. If anarchists attack something that others hold sacred, then those people will not be able to tolerate anarchism. That is what underlies all our fears. Whenever someone opposes and seeks to destroy something we hold sacred, of course we will resist with all our strength.
However, this is exactly the condition which occurs in our society. People live orderly and obedient lives in this capitalist era with all its failures and lies. It only seems good for people who believe in that way of living, good citizens without creative desires, that wish for their children to be as deferential as they are so that they are well-fitted for civilisation, where success is measured through money.
“I don’t want to live such an ignorant and humiliating life”. Believe me friend, anger will not cease even here, neither outside nor inside the prison walls.
The spirit of rebellion takes aim at all social conditions. Like a mortal disease it will swiftly spread through the body of power, gnawing at its cells and causing its internal joints to crumble. Then like a time-bomb, the moment will arrive, and it will explode, the old world remaining only as rubble and ashes.
This is the fire of people’s anger. Fire that shines a guiding light towards the end of this era and kindles the beginning of something new.
Dusk is approaching for this decrepit civilisation. And when the time arrives, free spirits will celebrate their joy that night singing songs and dancing.
This letter is dedicated to those fighting for freedom in Bima, in Kulon Progo, in Takalar, in Pandang Raya, in Papua or wherever they may be. My respect goes out to all of you who never tire in defending your land and livelihood.
Long live horizontal solidarity, long live struggle, long live anarchism.
Swa Tantra
—
Our comrade Hidayat (Yaya), aged 23, was arrested in a mass protest action in Makassar on 26th December 2011, as an act of solidarity with the people of Bima who were brutally repressed by the Indonesian police on 24th December 2011. In that act of repression, four people were killed and dozens wounded. The people of Bima were resisting mining in their area and were demanding that PT Sumber Mineral Nusantara’s mining permit be revoked.
In the solidarity action, Hidayat was arrested and accused of causing damage to a police outpost and a bank’s property. Since that day he has been held in the Sultan Alanuddin prison in Makassar and is awaiting trial under clause 170 of the Indonesian penal code (causing damage together with others), which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
Solidarity without limits!
Tags: Bima, Hidayat, Indonesia, Kulon Progo, Letter, Makassar, Mining, Padang Raya, PT Sumber Mineral Nusantara mining
This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 6th, 2012 at 12:09 pm and is filed under Prison Struggle.