Nusa Kambangan (also Nusakambangan, Kambangan island, or Nusa Kambangan Island) island is located in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, separated by a narrow strait from the south coast of
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
; the closest port is
Cilacap in
Central Java
Central Java ( id, Jawa Tengah) is a province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogyakarta in t ...
province. It known as the place where the fabled ''wijayakusuma'', which translates as the 'flower of victory' in the highest literary register of the
Javanese language
Javanese (, , ; , Aksara Jawa: , Pegon: , IPA: ) is a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken by the Javanese people from the central and eastern parts of the island of Java, Indonesia. There are also pockets of Javanese speakers on the northe ...
, grows. The ''wijayakusuma'' can be used to bring a person back from the dead, and the princes of the
Sultanate of Mataram
The Sultanate of Mataram () was the last major independent Javanese kingdom on the island of Java before it was colonised by the Dutch. It was the dominant political force radiating from the interior of Central Java from the late 16th centu ...
and later the
Surakarta Sunanate
Surakarta Sunanate ( id, Kasunanan Surakarta; jv, ꦟꦒꦫꦶꦑꦱꦸꦤꦤ꧀ꦤꦤ꧀ꦯꦸꦫꦏꦂꦠꦲꦢꦶꦤꦶꦁꦫꦠ꧀, ''Kasunanan/Karaton Surakarta Hadiningrat''; nl, Soerakarta) was a Javanese monarchy centred in the city of ...
sent to the island for the blooms in order to become kings. Thus the island is also known as ''pulau bunga-bungaan'', the 'island of many flowers'. There is a forest reserve on the island. One of the main cultural events is ''Sedekah Laut'' (sea sacrifice), which is held by the
Surakarta
Surakarta ( jv, ꦯꦸꦫꦏꦂꦠ), known colloquially as Solo ( jv, ꦱꦭ; ), is a city in Central Java, Indonesia. The 44 km2 (16.2 sq mi) city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Sukoh ...
Sunanate every
Satu Suro Satu Suro ( Javanese: , ) is the first day of the Javanese calendar year in the month of Suro (also transcribed "''Sura''"), corresponding with the first Islamic month of Muharram. It is mainly celebrated in Java, Indonesia, and by Javanese people l ...
(new year) in the
Javanese calendar
The Javanese calendar ( jv, ꦥꦤꦁꦒꦭ꧀ꦭꦤ꧀ꦗꦮ, Pananggalan Jawa) is the calendar of the Javanese people. It is used concurrently with two other calendars, the Gregorian calendar and the Islamic calendar. The Gregorian calendar is ...
. Since the Dutch colonial period, there have been a number of
supermax prisons on the island, some of which are still operational and run by
Ministry of Law and Human Rights of
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
.
History
![COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM De zuidkust van Noesa Kambangan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_De_zuidkust_van_Noesa_Kambangan._TMnr_60002532.jpg)
The island was declared off-limits in 1905 by the Dutch. The island was made into a prison island during the
era of Dutch rule. The colonial government built prisons on the island for criminals. The prison on Nusa Kambangan was opened in the mid-1920s by Indonesia's Dutch colonial rulers.
Its use as a prison island continued after independence. During the rule of
former President Suharto, hundreds of political dissidents were imprisoned on the island. Most were political prisoners, members of the banned
Communist Party of Indonesia
The Communist Party of Indonesia (Indonesian: ''Partai Komunis Indonesia'', PKI) was a communist party in Indonesia during the mid-20th century. It was the largest non-ruling communist party in the world before its violent disbandment in 1965. ...
or sympathizers. These prisoners were never brought to trial, and many of them died from hunger or illness.
In 1996, the island was opened to the public as a tourist destination.
The island has also been involved in
refugee
A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution. handling. About 140
Afghan refugees
Afghan refugees are citizens of Afghanistan who were compelled to abandon their country as a result of major wars, persecution, torture or genocide. The 1978 Saur Revolution followed by the 1979 Soviet invasion marked the first wave of inter ...
were detained on the island after their boat, which was en route to
Christmas Island,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, sank in rough seas on August 17, 2001. However, more than 90 of these refugees would later escape on September 19, 2001, sailing away in small fishing boats and are believed to have headed for Australia.
The island was affected by the
2006 Pangandaran earthquake and tsunami
An earthquake occurred on July 17, 2006 at along a subduction zone off the coast of west and central Java, a large and densely populated island in the Indonesian archipelago. The shock had a moment magnitude of 7.7 and a maximum perceived inten ...
, when a 7.7-magnitude undersea earthquake occurred off the coast of west Java. At least 11 villagers disappeared and 8 people were killed in the ensuing tsunami, two of which were prisoners at one of the Permisan prisons. At least fifteen inmates on Nusa Kambangan were also missing.
Demographics
The island population is 3,000, excluding the prison inmates and staff; most inhabitants are
Javanese. Their main occupation is
fishery
Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...
and some work in
rubber
Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...
and
teak
Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panicl ...
plantations. However,
illegal logging
Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a pro ...
activities, mostly conducted by outsiders, threaten the island environment.
Geography, flora and fauna
![Stavenn Trachypithecus auratus 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Stavenn_Trachypithecus_auratus_01.jpg)
Nusakambangan is separated from Java by the narrow Segara Anakan
strait
A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean channe ...
. Being isolated from mainland Java, the island is relatively under-developed and less inhabited and the wildlife is better preserved. The eastern side of a bay is a
nature reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...
area where an old
Dutch fortress
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
is located on the Karangbandung beach. As a lowland tropical
rainforest
Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...
, Nusakambangan is biologically diverse.
More than 71 different bird species, 14
reptile
Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...
species and various
mammal
Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
species are found in the island. Twenty-three bird species are classified as protected, including the
Pacific reef heron
The Pacific reef heron (''Egretta sacra''), also known as the eastern reef heron or eastern reef egret, is a species of heron found throughout southern Asia and Oceania. It occurs in two colour morphs with either slaty grey or pure white pluma ...
(''Egretta sacra''),
woolly-necked stork
The Asian woollyneck and African woollyneck (''Ciconia episcopus'' and ''Ciconia microscelis'') are two species of large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It breeds singly, or in small loose colonies. It is distributed in a wide varie ...
(''Ciconia episcopus''),
lesser adjutant (''leptoptilos javanicus''),
white-bellied sea eagle
The white-bellied sea eagle (''Haliaeetus leucogaster''), also known as the white-breasted sea eagle, is a large diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Originally described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788, it is closely related t ...
(''Haliaeetus leucogaster''),
brahminy kite (''Haliastur indus''), and
crested serpent eagle (''Spilornis cheela''). Several other protected mammal species include the
leopard
The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...
(''Panthera pardus''),
Indian muntjac (''Muntiacus muntjak'') and
chevrotain
Chevrotains, or mouse-deer, are small even-toed ungulates that make up the family Tragulidae, the only extant members of the infraorder Tragulina. The 10 extant species are placed in three genera, but several species also are known only ...
(''Tragulus javanicus''). Four of six native
primate
Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...
s in Java, namely
Javan lutung
The East Javan langur (''Trachypithecus auratus''), also known as the ebony lutung, Javan langur or Javan lutung, is an Old World monkey from the Colobinae subfamily. It is most commonly glossy black with a brownish tinge to its legs, sides, and ...
(''Trachypithecus auratus''), the
crab-eating macaque
The crab-eating macaque (''Macaca fascicularis''), also known as the long-tailed macaque and referred to as the cynomolgus monkey in laboratories, is a cercopithecine primate native to Southeast Asia. A species of macaque, the crab-eating macaqu ...
(''Macaca fascicularis''),
Javan surili
The Javan surili (''Presbytis comata'') is a vulnerable species of Old World monkey endemic to the western half of Java, Indonesia, a biodiversity hotspot. Other common names by which it is known by include gray, grizzled or Sunda Island surili; ...
(''Presbytis comata''), and
slow loris
Slow lorises are a group of several species of nocturnal strepsirrhine primates that make up the genus ''Nycticebus''. Found in Southeast Asia and bordering areas, they range from Bangladesh and Northeast India in the west to the Sulu Archipe ...
es (''Nycticebus'' sp.), have been reported to live on the island.
Saltwater crocodile
The saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus'') is a crocodilian native to saltwater habitats and brackish wetlands from India's east coast across Southeast Asia and the Sundaic region to northern Australia and Micronesia. It has been listed ...
s (''Crocodylus porosus'') are native to the surrounding mangroves and were historically common, but their current status is unknown. Sightings in May 2019 suggest small numbers may persist, although these individuals may have moved in from elsewhere.
In 2015 40 percent of Nusa Kambangan was spoiled by illegal logging and land clearing for plantations. Most of it had occurred in Selokjero, Bantapanjang, Kalijati, Jengkolan, Jongorasu, and Karanglena.
Tourism
![West end of Karang Bolong, Nusakembangan, Cilacap 2015-03-21](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/West_end_of_Karang_Bolong%2C_Nusakembangan%2C_Cilacap_2015-03-21.jpg)
From the mid-1990s, the island was intermittently promoted by local authorities as a tourist destination, primarily for its caves, beaches, and unusual wildlife that is extinct on Java.
Notable attractions include Permisan beach (''Pantai Permisan'') with its beautiful white and gray sands near the Permisan jail
lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Lighthouses mar ...
, Ranca Babakan on the west coast of the island, White Sands beach (''Pantai Pasir Putih''), and several caves such as Queen's cave (''Goa Ratu''). According to the Cilacap Tourism Office, Nusakambangan was opened as a tourist destination following an agreement between the
Central Java
Central Java ( id, Jawa Tengah) is a province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogyakarta in t ...
Governor and Ministry of Justice in 1996. The Cilacap government then invested some Rp 1.7 billion (around $200,000) in preparations for the opening up of the island, most of which was used on the construction of tourist-related infrastructure. A special agency was also established to manage tourism on the island, with the Nusakambangan Prison warden made head of the agency and Cilacap Tourism Office chief as the deputy. No individual tourists are allowed, all of the tourists within a group of minimum 15 persons which is arranged by tourist agency then will be accompanied by security officers until maximum 6 p.m without overnight stay.
Prisons
![Nusa Kambangan map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Nusa_Kambangan_map.png)
There are nine prisons built in the island, four of which are still used (a fifth super max prison is under construction):
*Permisan prison, built in 1908,
*Batu prison, built in 1925,
*Besi prison, built in 1929,
*Kembangkuning prison, built in 1950.
There are also five inactive prisons:
*Nirbaya prison, built in 1912,
*Karanganyar prison, built in 1912,
*Karangtengah prison, built in 1928,
*Gliger prison, built in 1929,
*Limusbuntu prison, built in 1935.
All of these were built by the Dutch, except Kembangkuning prison, which was built after
independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
. Of these, Batu (literally "stone") prison is considered the most famous.
It was sensationally called "
Alcatraz of Indonesia" in one news article by an American journalist, while another American titled his piece "Execution Island".
Notable inmates
Famous people imprisoned on the island include:
*
Pramoedya Ananta Toer
Pramoedya Ananta Toer ( EYD: Pramudya Ananta Tur) (6 February 1925 – 30 April 2006) was an Indonesian author of novels, short stories, essays, polemics and histories of his homeland and its people. His works span the colonial period under Dutc ...
, poet and novelist, jailed on the island July - August 1969 as
political prisoner
A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention.
There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...
.
*
Bob Hasan, former Minister of Forestry, convicted of
corruption
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
charges,
*
Imam Samudra
Imam Samudra ( ar, الإمام سامودرة, al-Imām Sāmūdirah, 14 January 1970 – 9 November 2008), also known as Abdul Aziz, Qudama/Kudama, Fatih/Fat, Abu Umar or Heri, was an Indonesian terrorist who was convicted and executed for his r ...
,
Amrozi
Ali Amrozi bin Haji Nurhasyim ( ar, علي عمرازي بن حجي نورهاشم, ʿAlī ʿAmrāzī bin Ḥajī Nūr Hāshim, 5 July 1962 – 9 November 2008) was an Indonesian terrorist who was convicted and executed for his role in carrying ...
, and
Ali Gufron, three men convicted of organising the
2002 Bali bombing
The 2002 Bali bombings occurred on 12 October 2002 in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. The attack killed 202 people (including 88 Australians, 38 Indonesians, 23 Britons, and people of more than 20 other nationalit ...
. They were executed there by firing squad on November 9, 2008.
*
Tommy Suharto
Hutomo Mandala Putra (born 15 July 1962), commonly known as Tommy Suharto, is an Indonesian businessman, politician, and convicted murderer. The youngest son of Suharto, the second President of Indonesia, he has long had a reputation for nepoti ...
, son of former president Suharto, convicted of masterminding the murder of the judge who sentenced him for
corruption
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
.
* Fabianus Tibo, Dominggus da Silva and Marianus Riwu, three men convicted as provocateurs and mastermind of a deadly riot in
Central Sulawesi
Central Sulawesi (Indonesian: ''Sulawesi Tengah'') is a province of Indonesia located at the centre of the island of Sulawesi. The administrative capital and largest city is located in Palu. The 2010 census recorded a population of 2,635,009 for ...
; they have been executed there.
* Australians
Andrew Chan
Andrew Chan (; 12 January 1984 – 29 April 2015) was an Australian man who was convicted and executed in Indonesia for drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine. In 2005, Chan was arrested at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar. ...
and
Myuran Sukumaran
Myuran Sukumaran (17 April 1981 – 29 April 2015) was an Australian who was convicted in Indonesia of drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine. In 2005, Sukumaran was arrested in a room at the Melasti Hotel in Kuta with eight others. Poli ...
, the ringleaders of the so-called
Bali Nine
The Bali Nine were nine Australians convicted for attempting to smuggle of heroin out of Indonesia in April 2005. The heroin was valued at around 4 million and was bound for Australia. Ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were ...
group were arrested at Denpasar airport in 2005 for drug trafficking and sentenced in 2006 to execution by firing squad. They were executed by firing squad on April 29, 2015.
* Brazilian
Rodrigo Gularte
Rodrigo Muxfeldt Gularte (13 July 1972 – 29 April 2015) was a Brazilian citizen who was executed in Indonesia by firing squad for drug trafficking.
Gularte was diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. According to news reports, he did ...
, convicted as drug smuggler. He was executed by firing squad on April 29, 2015.
* Filipina
Mary Jane Veloso
Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso is a Filipino woman who was arrested and sentenced to death for smuggling heroin into Indonesia. Her case, among others, sparked international attention towards Indonesia's capital punishment and drug prohibition laws.
...
, arrested and sentenced to death, convicted of smuggling of heroin into Indonesia.
* American Frank Amado, convicted for drug trafficking, under a death sentence and at Kembangkuning Prison. Released July, 2021.
Nusakambangan has also held hundreds of members of
Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, but they were later released as part of a peace deal.
244 inmates convicted in various drugs and narcotics offences were transported to the new Super Maximum Security Prison in Nusakambangan in 2007. These inmates came from various prisons in the country. The moving is intended to isolate them and cut drug circulation in Indonesia.
Executions
On 9 November 2008,
Imam Samudra
Imam Samudra ( ar, الإمام سامودرة, al-Imām Sāmūdirah, 14 January 1970 – 9 November 2008), also known as Abdul Aziz, Qudama/Kudama, Fatih/Fat, Abu Umar or Heri, was an Indonesian terrorist who was convicted and executed for his r ...
,
Amrozi
Ali Amrozi bin Haji Nurhasyim ( ar, علي عمرازي بن حجي نورهاشم, ʿAlī ʿAmrāzī bin Ḥajī Nūr Hāshim, 5 July 1962 – 9 November 2008) was an Indonesian terrorist who was convicted and executed for his role in carrying ...
, and
Ali Gufron, three men convicted for their roles in the
2002 Bali bombing
The 2002 Bali bombings occurred on 12 October 2002 in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. The attack killed 202 people (including 88 Australians, 38 Indonesians, 23 Britons, and people of more than 20 other nationalit ...
were executed by firing squad at Nusa Kambangan after their appeals for clemency were turned down.
In late 2014, the government of the new President
Joko Widodo
Joko Widodo (; born 21 June 1961), popularly known as Jokowi, is an Indonesian politician and businessman who is the 7th and current president of Indonesia. Elected in July 2014, he was the first Indonesian president not to come from an elite ...
announced that the execution of persons convicted of drug-related offences would be resumed. Appeals for clemency from six convicted drug dealers were turned down. The resumption of executions attracted considerable international publicity. Shortly after midnight on Sunday, 18 January 2015, five convicted persons were executed by
firing squad
Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are us ...
at Nusakambangan Island and another person convicted of drug dealing was executed, at the same time, in a separate prison in
Boyolali in
Central Java
Central Java ( id, Jawa Tengah) is a province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogyakarta in t ...
. Two of the prisoners were members of the
Bali 9 gang, Andrew Chan and Mayuran Sukumaran. The Dutch and Brazilian governments announced that their ambassadors to Indonesia would be temporarily withdrawn in protest since Dutch and Brazilian nationals were amongst the executed.
['Niniek Karmin,]
Indonesia executes 6 drug convicts, including 5 foreigners'
''The Jakarta Post'', 18 January 2015,
''Yahoo! News'', 18 January 2015, an
Indonesia executes six drug convicts as new president Joko Widodo takes a hard line on drugs
, ''ABC News'' 18 January 2015.
References
{{commons category, Nusa Kambangan
Islands of Central Java
Prisons in Indonesia