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Widji Thukul (born August 26, 1963) is an Indonesian poet and activist.[2] His work is political, often critical of the Indonesian government and the social conditions of the country. He has been missing since 1998.[3]

Widji Thukul
Born	Wiji Widodo (1963-08-26)26 August 1963 Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia
Disappeared	10 February 1998 (aged 34) [1]
Status	Missing for 24 years, 9 months and 6 days
Political party	People's Democratic Party

Life

Born on 26 August 1963, Thukul attended junior high school, but left middle school in 1982 due to his family's financial constraints. Early jobs included newspaper-seller, ticket-scalper, and finisher in a furniture shop.

As well as being a poet, Thukul was also a musician and also accompanied a theatre group, Theater Jagat, around Solo.

In 1988, Thukul married Dyah Sujirah. They had two children. Together they founded an arts group called Sanggar Suka Banjir (Frequent Flooding Studio).

Thukul helped organize workers demonstrations and was a member of Partai Rakyat Demokratik (People's Democratic Party). In a worker demonstration in 1995, Thukul was struck in the eye by a rifle butt, causing permanent damage to his sight.

His last contact with his wife was in February 1998.[4] In April of that year he was seen in a demonstration in Tangerang but has not been seen since. It is suspected that he was one of many anti-government protesters abducted by government forces during the anti-Suharto demonstrations.

Publications

• Puisi Pelo (Lisping Poetry), published by Taman Budaya Surakata, Solo, 1984.
• Darman dan Lain-lain (Darman and the Others), published by Taman Budaya Surakata, Solo, 1994.
• Mencari Tanah Lapang (Looking for an Open Plot of Land), published by Manus Amici, 1994.
• Aku Ingin Jadi Peluru (I Want to be a Bullet), published by IndonesiaTera, Magelang, 2000.

Awards

Thukul's Looking for an Open Plot of Land won the 'Encourage Award' from the Netherlands-based Wertheim Foundation.

See also

• List of people who disappeared

References

Notes

Some of this information in this article is taken from the biographical essay 'Wiji Thukul: People's Poet' by Tinuk R. Yampolsky, in Menagerie 5, edited by John McGlynn and Laora Arkeman, Lontar Foundation, Jakarta, 2003.

External links

• Translation into English of some of Thukul's poems

На других языках

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- [en] Widji Thukul

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[fr] Wiji Thukul

Wiji Thukul, ou Widji Thukul, est un poète indonésien, né le 23 août 1963 à Surakarta, sur l'île de Java. Poète engagé et militant de l'opposition contre le régime autoritaire de Soeharto, il est porté disparu depuis les émeutes de 1998 qui ont conduit à la chute du pouvoir, durant lesquelles il a probablement été enlevé et tué par des services du gouvernement.

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