How a controversial presidential candidate turned two Indonesian resistance friends into enemies

In the lobby of an office building in the business center of Jakarta, Petrus Haryanto (53) hands over a pamphlet to the Indonesian ombudsman. The activist wears a black T-shirt with the slogan: 'A good person does not choose kidnappers'. Because he demands an investigation into the kidnappings of thirteen fellow activists that took place between 1996 and 1998.

He also wants a condemnation of the government of Joko Widodo, which has dropped the case. In fact, President Widodo appointed prime suspect Prabowo Subianto, better known as Prabowo, as Minister of Defense in 2019. In 2024, Prabowo is on course to receive the most votes during the presidential elections in Indonesia next Wednesday. For activists like Haryanto, Prabowo's prospects as president are a nightmare. And he certainly cannot understand that his former comrade-in-arms Budiman Sudjatmiko supports the former general.

Prabowo's past is not without blemishes. He was leader of the special army unit Kopassus during the time of autocrat Suharto. No one doubts the unit's involvement in the kidnapping, torture and disappearance of the students. After an internal investigation, Prabowo was fired by the military. But there was never a lawsuit. It has also never become clear what happened to the thirteen activists who never returned. Four of them were friends of Haryanto and Budiman.

about his former comrade in armsPeter Haryanto Budiman asked us, the veterans, not to hold Prabowo accountable for his actions anymore. I can't forgive him for that

Haryanto and Budiman shared a cell in Cipinang prison in Jakarta for three years. The pair protested against the autocrat Suharto by reading out the founding declaration of their new political party, the People's Party for Democracy (PRD), of which they were party chairman and party secretary, on July 22, 1996. A week later, a violent eviction of the office of another political party (the PDI-P, the party of Sukarno's daughter Megawati) led to fierce street protests. Budiman and Haryanto were identified as the main perpetrators of the uprising and were arrested.

“Budiman wants power and sees career opportunities with Prabowo,” says Haryanto a few weeks before the elections. Companions push him in his wheelchair to the exit of the Ombudsman Building. “Even if that means betraying his old friends from the PRD, throwing away his ideals and also whitewashing Prabowo's actions.”

Haryanto is in poor health. On his back hangs a kind of harness to which a kidney dialysis machine can be attached. When he arrives at the exit, he clenches his fist in front of some local journalists and calls for justice together with colleagues. He then leaves for the next action location.

Renewable energy

While Haryanto spends the rest of the afternoon chanting slogans for justice in front of the government palace in the blazing sun, Budiman turns out his charms for presidential candidate Prabowo at a campaign meeting. The politician tries to convince those present that Prabowo is fully committed to sustainable energy. “I'm not a babysitter,” he responds afterwards, when he hears that his old friend Haryanto is having a hard time. “We are both sons of the same society. I have the right to make my own political choices.”

He emphasizes that he supports Prabowo out of conviction. “Not because of money. I want prosperity and development for Indonesia and Prabowo is the best man for that job.”

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When asked whether he is not being used by Prabowo to launder his actions, the politician jumps up as if stung by a wasp. “I went to Prabowo myself. I am not in anyone's favor.” In 2002, Budiman and a fellow victim asked Prabowo for clarification about the kidnappings. Prabowo acknowledged that they took place. “He said to us: everyone came home in one piece, right?” And what about the disappearances? Budiman waves away that objection. “He knew that [Prabowo] none of it.” For Budiman, the matter was settled after that meeting. “You know, this is Indonesia. Not the West. Maybe we can focus on the democratic process at a later stage, but we have to develop economically first.”

The rift between the two former comrades-in-arms is recent. Although the men did not always agree on everything after their release, contact remained friendly. According to Haryanto, it speaks volumes that his old cellmate did not discuss this step with him. “He doesn't want to hear any counterarguments. He has created a fable for himself to justify giving up the fight for democracy. He wants economic development and it doesn't matter how. The result also no longer has to be obtained in a democratic manner.”

Vegetable soup with fried fish

The cellmates were each other's best friends. They shared everything together. There was a small kitchenette. They had a cooking schedule. Budiman washed dishes. Haryanto comes from a poor family, who could not visit him often. Budiman's family brought him a meal every Sunday and they ate it together. “Vegetable soup with fried fish is his favorite food,” says Haryanto.

They also controlled the underground resistance from the cell. Every morning, at five o'clock sharp, they listened to uncensored news on Radio Hilversum or Radio Melbourne. “We were in the section with the hardened criminals. Guards did not dare to interfere with the prisoners.” There was a volleyball competition. “We had piles of books. And typewriters! Comrades typed letters and pamphlets.”

Haryanto looked up at his friend. Budiman was the charismatic driving force of the movement. The man of big ideas. He could effortlessly deliver one political treatise after another. He was the poster boy, the speaker. Haryanto was more practical. “I was the organizer.”

Haryanto looks at the photos on the wall in his house in a kampong in south Jakarta. “We also had fun together. We joked that women in prison were rarer than stars in the sky.” Haryanto had a steady girlfriend, his current wife Nurely Yudha. But because she was wanted for resistance activities, she could not visit him. Budiman was single for a long time. “In the first years he only paid attention to the struggle. He had no idea what to do with women. He didn't do that.” But once in prison, one fighter after another came to visit him. “All the women fell for him.”

Political prisoners

Haryanto smiles at the memory. “Once he fell in love, we went crazy for him. He talked about her all the time, couldn't concentrate. While he had only seen her from a distance.” At that time, while they were in jail, there were lawsuits going on. “One day, when we had to appear in court, Budiman suddenly told me that he had just had his first kiss!” Haryanto bursts out laughing again. “I had to listen to it continuously. Half of his soul was with the revolution, the other half with that woman.”

now supports the controversial former general and presidential candidate PrabowoBudiman Sudjatmiko I went to Prabowo myself. I'm not in anyone's favor

But above all, these were anxious times. “When we were arrested, the international community was on top of it. We were known political prisoners.” Amnesty wrote letters to the Indonesian government. US President Bill Clinton denounced their captivity. This international attention has spared Haryanto and Budiman from torture. Others were tortured. Electrocution was a notorious method. “We heard the screams. And we received more and more reports of disappearances.” Comrades were arrested one by one.

Budiman's choice of Prabowo has broken something beyond repair. “Budiman recently said in a speech: Prabowo has been part of democracy for almost 25 years. He gives us a future. And he asked us, the veterans, not to hold Prabowo accountable for his actions anymore. I can't forgive him for that.”

And so Haryanto fights on. He is not afraid of being arrested again. “I probably don't have much longer to live anyway,” he says. As long as he can, he will make his voice heard.

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