Never forget: Activists rally to commemorate slain labor activist Marsinah at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta on Saturday. They demanded the government to declare May 8 Women Workers’ Day. JP/Ricky Yudhistira
Activists demanded Saturday that Marsinah, a labor activist found dead in 1993 in East Java, be honored as a national heroine.
“Given the current socioeconomic climate, Marsinah’s sacrifice and achievements can inspire Indonesia’s oppressed people,” they said in a statement read out during a discussion.
The discussion also heard a statement that activists claim was issued by Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar, in which the government apologized for Marsinah’s murder, with the minister expressing support for labor activists’ campaign to make her a national hero.
“On behalf of the government, I want to apologize for all that has happened, which eventually caused Marsinah’s [death]. I also apologize to her family, who has suffered all this time because of their loss,” the text read. The authenticity of the text could not be verified.
The discussion was held by the Indonesian People’s Opposition Forum (FOR Indonesia) at the office of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) to commemorate Women Workers’ Day. They are demanding that the government declares May 8 as Women Workers’ Day.
Marsinah was a worker at a watch factory in Sidoarjo, whose murdered body was found on May 8, 1993.
She had led a 500-strong labor action to press worker demands for allowances. All protest leaders were told to resign from the company by the local military command.
Marsina’s body, discovered in a hut inside a forest in Nganjuk, East Java, indicated she may have been raped and tortured before being killed. (JP/dis)
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