JAKARTA, RAKYAT NEWS – “100 Years of Pramoedya Ananta Toer: The State Must Ensure Freedom of Expression and Thought, Free All Prisoners of Conscience in Indonesia”

The 100th anniversary of Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s birth on February 6, 2025, serves as a crucial moment for the nation to ensure that citizens are no longer imprisoned for peacefully expressing themselves or creating art, as Pram himself once experienced.

From a human rights perspective, Pramoedya symbolizes the freedom to think, speak, express opinions, and create. His works were banned by the government, and he was incarcerated repeatedly, including on the remote island of Buru.

“Pram spent half of his life in prison and the other half living with an unjust negative stigma. His freedom was not a gift from the state, but a result of the pressure from many who advocated for his release,” said Usman Hamid, Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia.

“Pram’s struggle was a fight for human dignity and the preservation of freedom of thought and expression, which was violently taken away by the state,” Usman continued.

“Young people admire and draw inspiration from Pram’s work. They must continue his fight by speaking out against the injustices committed by the state. Pram’s freedom was stolen by the government, highlighting how powerful writing is as an expression of fundamental freedoms that should be protected by the state,” Usman added.

Amnesty International was one of the international organizations that campaigned for Pram’s release during his time on Buru Island.

One of the campaigns involved listing Pramoedya as a “prisoner of conscience” in the Amnesty International newsletter titled Prisoner of Conscience from September 12-19, 1972.

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