TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Amarzan Loebis is Tempo’s senior editor who was once imprisoned at the age of 27 under Soeharto’s regime as a political prisoner. He was released at the age of 39.

“It is difficult to forget the fact that Soeharto stole my productive age,” said Loebis in an interview with Tempo Institute in 2012.

At the time, he was arrested while working as a reporter for Harian Rakyat. Amarzan Loebis was also a member of the country’s hard-left organization known as Lekra, which was affiliated to the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). Amarzan was sent to Buru Island where political inmates were imprisoned.

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According to Amarzan, 1965 was the year where a regime that did not believe in democracy, human rights, and dissenting opinions were in power. He claimed that Soeharto’s regime could arrest anyone and declare them guilty of crimes bereft of trial.

“To me, personally, Soeharto’s regime was really incredible, where we were introduced to the Buru Island that served as a prison for anyone without going through court proceedings,” said Amarzan.

He said the G30S in 1965 was an event so dramatic and catastrophic that no one was able to completely and entirely comprehend what really happened that day. Amarzan said each party only knew parts of the story, and Soeharto’s 32-year regime did not give any chance for those pieces to form a complete puzzle, especially considering the deaths of key witnesses.

Amarzan called on the current generation to not judge anyone in plain black and white and act critical yet fair. Despite being a victim to past government oppression, he does not condemn the regime that treated him unjustly, just to be able to be mentally above his past oppressors. “Such as deeming Soekarno 100 percent good and Soeharto is 100 percent bad. I do not believe in such mindset.”

RYAN DWIKY ANGGRIAWAN