Letter-writing and Transnational Activism on Behalf of Indonesian Political Prisoners: Gatot Lestario and his Legacy
Amnesty International estimated in 1977 that between 600,000 and 750,000 Indonesians had been or were still imprisoned as a result of the Army-led anti-communist violence in Indonesia in the mid-1960s. This article charts the relationship between members of Amnesty International and the Religious So...
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
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ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
2016
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/86873 |
| _version_ | 1848764880753000448 |
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| author | Hearman, Vannessa |
| author_facet | Hearman, Vannessa |
| author_sort | Hearman, Vannessa |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Amnesty International estimated in 1977 that between 600,000 and 750,000 Indonesians had been or were still imprisoned as a result of the Army-led anti-communist violence in Indonesia in the mid-1960s. This article charts the relationship between members of Amnesty International and the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) with a political prisoner on death row in East Java, Gatot Lestario, a former leader of the Indonesian Communist Party. This article draws on the letters he wrote over a period of three years before his execution in 1985 and interviews with his pen pals. It traces the ways in which he encouraged his pen pals to advocate for human rights in Indonesia and their responses, as well as his own involvement in political prisoner advocacy. This case study illustrates the disappearance of Indonesia's previously close and solidary relationship with the socialist world and its replacement at the people-to-people level with human rights activism involving Western activists. This is particularly evident in the increasingly important role played by members of Amnesty International, the Quakers and other overseas organizations concerned with Indonesia. Finally, the article assesses Gatot Lestario's impact, after his execution, on the development of a long-term advocacy network for Indonesia's political prisoners. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:26:23Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-86873 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:26:23Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-868732021-12-17T03:21:41Z Letter-writing and Transnational Activism on Behalf of Indonesian Political Prisoners: Gatot Lestario and his Legacy Hearman, Vannessa Social Sciences Area Studies Gatot Lestario Religious Society of Friends Quakers human rights Indonesia Amnesty International Amnesty International estimated in 1977 that between 600,000 and 750,000 Indonesians had been or were still imprisoned as a result of the Army-led anti-communist violence in Indonesia in the mid-1960s. This article charts the relationship between members of Amnesty International and the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) with a political prisoner on death row in East Java, Gatot Lestario, a former leader of the Indonesian Communist Party. This article draws on the letters he wrote over a period of three years before his execution in 1985 and interviews with his pen pals. It traces the ways in which he encouraged his pen pals to advocate for human rights in Indonesia and their responses, as well as his own involvement in political prisoner advocacy. This case study illustrates the disappearance of Indonesia's previously close and solidary relationship with the socialist world and its replacement at the people-to-people level with human rights activism involving Western activists. This is particularly evident in the increasingly important role played by members of Amnesty International, the Quakers and other overseas organizations concerned with Indonesia. Finally, the article assesses Gatot Lestario's impact, after his execution, on the development of a long-term advocacy network for Indonesia's political prisoners. 2016 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/86873 10.1080/14672715.2016.1157954 English ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Social Sciences Area Studies Gatot Lestario Religious Society of Friends Quakers human rights Indonesia Amnesty International Hearman, Vannessa Letter-writing and Transnational Activism on Behalf of Indonesian Political Prisoners: Gatot Lestario and his Legacy |
| title | Letter-writing and Transnational Activism on Behalf of Indonesian Political Prisoners: Gatot Lestario and his Legacy |
| title_full | Letter-writing and Transnational Activism on Behalf of Indonesian Political Prisoners: Gatot Lestario and his Legacy |
| title_fullStr | Letter-writing and Transnational Activism on Behalf of Indonesian Political Prisoners: Gatot Lestario and his Legacy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Letter-writing and Transnational Activism on Behalf of Indonesian Political Prisoners: Gatot Lestario and his Legacy |
| title_short | Letter-writing and Transnational Activism on Behalf of Indonesian Political Prisoners: Gatot Lestario and his Legacy |
| title_sort | letter-writing and transnational activism on behalf of indonesian political prisoners: gatot lestario and his legacy |
| topic | Social Sciences Area Studies Gatot Lestario Religious Society of Friends Quakers human rights Indonesia Amnesty International |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/86873 |