Working from the Margins: Initiatives for Truth and Reconciliation for Victims of the 1965 Mass Violence in Solo and Palu

Abstract

In Indonesia, human-rights groups initiated various efforts to address the 1965 mass violence and to push for state’s acknowledgement of the past injustice. For the last decade, these groups used a different approach by working with local governments at regency levels. This chapter examines the case in Palu and Solo, two regions where two non-government organizations and victims have attempted to formalize their initiatives for truth and reconciliation with their local governments’ policies. Wahyuningroem assesses the different outcomes of the two cases, and identifies the potential for expanding the approach to other areas in Indonesia in order to make a stronger case for national truth and justice efforts by the state.