The 27 July Incident was an attack by Indonesian government forces on the head office of the
Indonesian Democratic Party
The Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) was one of the two state-approved parties during the New Order era of the late 20th-century in Indonesia.
Origins
Ten political parties participated in the 1971 legislative elections, a number that Pres ...
, which was being occupied by supporters of recently ousted party leader
Megawati Sukarnoputri
Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Sukarnoputri (; born 23 January 1947) is an Indonesian politician who served as the fifth president of Indonesia from 2001 to 2004. She previously served as the eighth Vice President of Indonesia, vice president f ...
. It was followed by two days of riots in
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
.
Background
After coming to power, the
New Order regime of President
Suharto
Suharto (; ; 8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian army officer and politician, who served as the second and the longest serving president of Indonesia. Widely regarded as a military dictator by international observers, Suharto ...
took steps to consolidate its position, firstly turning the
Golkar
)
, foundation =
, youth = AMPG (Golkar Party Young Force)
, women = KPPG (Golkar Party Women's Corps)
, newspaper = '' Suara Karya'' (1971–2016)
, headquarters = Jakarta
, ideology ...
organization into the regime's political vehicle, then in 1973 pressuring the nine parties who had been allowed to contest the
1971 elections to merge into just two. The Islamic parties joined together to form the
United Development Party
The United Development Party ( id, Partai Persatuan Pembangunan, sometimes translated as Development Unity Party; abbreviated PPP) is an Islam-basedAl-Hamdi, Ridho. (2013). ''Partai politik Islam: Teori dan praktik di Indonesia''. Yogyakarta: Grah ...
(PPP), while the nationalist and Christian parties fused into the
Indonesian Democratic Party
The Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) was one of the two state-approved parties during the New Order era of the late 20th-century in Indonesia.
Origins
Ten political parties participated in the 1971 legislative elections, a number that Pres ...
(PDI). Only these three organizations were allowed to contest the five-yearly elections, and Golkar always won a significant majority of the votes, partly because of government threats and intimidation.
In the
1987 elections,
Megawati Sukarnoputri
Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Sukarnoputri (; born 23 January 1947) is an Indonesian politician who served as the fifth president of Indonesia from 2001 to 2004. She previously served as the eighth Vice President of Indonesia, vice president f ...
, daughter of Indonesia's first president,
Sukarno
Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967.
Sukarno was the leader of ...
agreed to stand for election and campaign for the PDI. She repeatedly invoked her father's name at election rallies, and the positive response to this from young voters was a shock for the government. She was elected, and took her seat in the
People's Representative Council
The People's Representative Council of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Republik Indonesia, DPR-RI), also known as the House of Representatives, is one of two elected chambers of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), ...
in October 1987. In the 1992 election campaign, the PDI called for significant reforms, including a two-term limit for the president, which prompted a direct response from President
Suharto
Suharto (; ; 8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian army officer and politician, who served as the second and the longest serving president of Indonesia. Widely regarded as a military dictator by international observers, Suharto ...
, who said such a call was an attack on the
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
. The PDI garnered its highest ever vote, 14.9 percent due to its criticism of the government and use of Sukarno as a symbol. This increased share of the vote seemed to be mostly at the expense of Golkar. After repeated government interference in PDI leadership contests, Megawati became party chair in December 1993.
By 1996, support for the PDI was increasing among intellectuals, middle class city-dwellers and low income Jakartans. Some of Megawati's supporters urged her to run for the presidency. The
Indonesian military
, founded = as the ('People's Security Forces')
, current_form =
, disbanded =
, branches =
, headquarters = Cilangkap, Jakarta
, website =
, commander-in-chief = Joko Widodo
, ...
subsequently intervened in an extraordinary PDI conference held in
Medan
Medan (; English: ) is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of North Sumatra, as well as a regional hub and financial centre of Sumatra. According to the National Development Planning Agency, Medan is one of the four main ...
from 20–24 June to depose Megawati, and reappoint former leader Soerjadi, who was seen as less of a threat. On 20 June, 5,000 people attended a demonstration in support of Megawati in Jakarta – some wearing "Megawati for President" t-shirts. Over 70 were injured in clashes with police and soldiers. In Medan, Soerjadi was duly elected party chair, but Megawati and her followers refused to recognize this, and launched a legal challenge. The PDI split into two factions, the government-recognized PDI led by Soerjadi recognized by the government, and the "PDI Mega" supported by the by grassroots membership.
Attack on PDI headquarters
Following the Medan congress, Megawati's supporters refused to leave the party head office on Jalan Diponegoro,
Menteng
Menteng is the south-central district of Central Jakarta, one of the administrative municipalities in the capital city Jakarta, Indonesia.
The nexus of its heritage is the Menteng neighbourhood (Project), a new urban design developed mainly in t ...
, Jakarta. They played music and listened to speeches attacking corruption in the government. The movement attracted support from other organizations, including the
Indonesian Workers Welfare Union, led by former political prisoner
Muchtar Pakpahan
Muchtar Pakpahan (21 December 1953 – 21 March 2021) was an Indonesian labor leader who founded the first independent trade union in Indonesia. Pakpahan was active as a lawyer at Muchtar Pakpahan & Associates Law Firm and taught at the Law Fac ...
.
The government waited until an ASEAN summit had ended, and at 6.30am on Saturday 27 July, a time chosen to ensure the financial impact would be minimized, a mob claiming to be from the Soerjadi fraction, but actually organised by the government, attacked and occupied the headquarters. This mob included soldiers in civilian clothing and thugs from the army-associated
Pemuda Pancasila
The Pancasila Youth ( id, Pemuda Pancasila, ''PP'') is an Indonesian far-right paramilitary organization established in 1959. The organisation's name refers to ''Pancasila'', the official "five principles" of the Indonesian state. Pemuda Panca ...
organization. The attack resulted in many deaths and injuries. According to the
National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM), 5 people were killed, 149 injured and 74 missing – mostly from those arrested by the military. The attack was followed by two days of rioting, in which youths burned at least 6 buildings, including that of the Ministry of Agriculture. This was the worst rioting in Jakarta since the 1984
Tanjung Priok incident.
Timeline of the violence
![Denah lokasi peristiwa 27 Juli 1996 di Menteng, Jakarta](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Denah_lokasi_peristiwa_27_Juli_1996_di_Menteng%2C_Jakarta.jpg)
The following is a chronology of the main events. All times in
UTC+7
UTC+07:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +07:00. In ISO 8601 the associated time would be written as . It is 7 hours ahead of UTC, meaning that when the time in UTC areas is midnight (00:00), the time in UTC+07:00 areas would ...
* 06:15 7 open-back trucks park in front of the PDI central office and disgorge a group of people in red T-shirts armed with clubs, who begin throwing stones at the building
* 06:30 Approximately 500 troops equipped with riot shields, batons and tear gas arrive and form two groups to block access to the stretch of Jl Diponegoro containing the PDI HQ. They prevented Megawati supporters from reaching the building.
* 06:40 Two tanks arrive and are parked under the railway bridge
* 07:40 Central Jakarta Police District commander Lt Col Abu Bakar stops the stone-throwing. He asks Megawati’s supporters to leave PDI HQ, but they refuse, and also refuse the offer to evacuate the injured in police ambulances.
* 08:15 Stone-throwing restarts. Lt-Col Zul Effendi from the Central Jakarta District Military Command leads the red-clothed attackers in an attack on the PDI HQ perimeter fence. The attackers are given stones by the riot police. They breach the perimeter, start fires and ransack the building. The security forces assume control of the PDI HQ. Megawati supporters are detained. Other supporters prevented from approaching by the blockades set a bus on fire.
* 11:00 Megawati supporters breach the blockade. Battles with security forces ensue and large numbers of soldiers and armored vehicles arrive.
* 14:30 The crowd is dispersed by the security forces. Three more buses are burned.
* 15:10 Buildings in Jalan Kramat Raya are set alight.
* 17:10 Buildings and cars are set on fire in Jalan Proklamasi and in Senen.
Aftermath
The government blamed the small leftist
People's Democratic Party People's Democratic Party or ''variant thereof'', could refer to:
* People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan
*People's Democratic Party (Belize)
*People's Democratic Party (Bhutan)
*People's Democratic Party (Chile)
* People's Democratic Party (Dom ...
(PRD) for the disturbances, and the military accused it of being communist. As a result, several Islamic organizations, including the
Muhammadiyah
Muhammadiyah ( ar, محمدية; 'followers of Muhammad'); also known as the Muhammadiyah Society ( id, Persyarikatan Muhammadiyah) is a major Islamic non-governmental organization in Indonesia.A. Jalil HamidTackle the rising cost of living longer ...
youth wing, the
Indonesian Ulema Council
Indonesian Ulema Council ( id, Majelis Ulama Indonesia, ar, مجلس العلماء الإندونيسي, abbreviated MUI) is Indonesia's top Islamic scholars body. MUI was founded in Jakarta on July 26, 1975 during the New Order era. The council ...
, the
Muslim Students' Association
The Muslim Students Association, or Muslim Student Union, of the U.S. and Canada, also known as MSA National, is a religious organization dedicated to establishing and maintaining Islamic societies on college campuses in Canada and the United Sta ...
and the
United Development Party
The United Development Party ( id, Partai Persatuan Pembangunan, sometimes translated as Development Unity Party; abbreviated PPP) is an Islam-basedAl-Hamdi, Ridho. (2013). ''Partai politik Islam: Teori dan praktik di Indonesia''. Yogyakarta: Grah ...
all expressed support for the military action against the party.
Budiman Sudjatmiko
Budiman Sudjatmiko (born 10 March 1970 in Cilacap, Central Java) is an Native Indonesians, Indonesian activist and politician from Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle. He was a political prisoner during the final years of the Suharto regime. ...
and other party leaders, as well as Muchtar Pakpahan, were arrested and tried for subversion.Budiman was jailed for 13 years, while his colleagues received shorter sentences. All were released in March 1999.
Megawati's legal challenge to the election of Soerjadi at the Medan congress failed after the
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
issued a ruling that the Jakarta District Court did not have the authority to hear the case. Further demonstrations in support of Megawati took place in Jakarta. Both PDI factions put forward lists of legislative candidates for the
1997 elections, but the authorities recognized only the list produced by the Soerjadi faction. In protest, Megawati officially announced she would not be using her right to vote. The PDI vote collapsed in the election, with 80% of its voters switching to Golkar or the PPP.
Following the
fall of Suharto
Suharto resigned as President of Indonesia on 21 May 1998 following the collapse of support for his 32-year long presidency. Vice President B. J. Habibie took over the presidency.
Suharto's grip on power weakened following severe economic and ...
in 1998, on 1 February 1999, the pro-Megawati faction of the PDI declared the formation of a new party, the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle ( id, Partai Demokrasi Indonesia Perjuangan, PDI-P) is an Indonesian political party, and the party of the current President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo.
The PDI-P was founded and is currently led by Me ...
, as the heir to the old PDI. The party won the largest share of the vote, 35%, of the 48 parties that contested the
1999 elections
The following elections occurred in the year 1999.
* 1999 electoral calendar
Africa
* 1999 Algerian presidential election
* 1999 Botswana general election
* 1999 Beninese parliamentary election
* 1999 Central African Republic presidential elect ...
, the first democratic elections for 44 years, and in October of that year, Megawati became vice-president.
Notes
References
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{{portal, Indonesia
1996 in Indonesia
1990s in Jakarta
Political repression in Indonesia