Letter from Hidayat, In Prison in Makassar (Indonesia)

March 6, 2012 325 Magazine

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!