“Your Silence Kills” (2024) by Alit Ambara. Courtesy of Watch65. Remembering and Solidarity-Making: 60 Years after 1965
As part of the exhibition Lawan!, on show at Framer Framed from 12 to 21 September 2025, collective Watch65 presents Remembering and Solidarity-Making: 60 Years after 1965. The atrocities of 1965 were the harbinger of Soeharto’s New Order (1966-1998), a period in Indonesian history marked by fascist rule, strident militarism, and the repression of critical voices. The crimes against humanity that targeted leftist proponents in 1965/1966 have forged a legacy of postcolonial violence and a culture of impunity that persists to this day.
The specific locus of this commemoration is the Netherlands as a site of transnational resistance, which is highlighted through the intertwined stories of Indonesian political exiles and the Dutch solidarity networks that rose up against Soeharto’s repressive military regime. Presenting artworks by artist activists Yayak Yatmaka, Koes Komo and Alit Ambara, as well as featuring archives of the Komitee Indonesië, the exhibition showcases the long tradition of cross-border political agency and the struggle for truth, justice and people’s liberation.
In contemporary times, the tilt to the extreme right, return of authoritarianism, and erosion of democracy are enabling colonialism and abetting the infliction of unspeakable human sufferings in many parts of the world. Of these, the ongoing genocide that Israel commits in Gaza is the pinnacle. Something needs to be done, and the exhibition calls for a collective refusal of silence and complicity, menolak bungkam. While dedicated to learning from the past, it is orientated to the future and speaks to the urgency of putting solidarity into action.
Accompanying the presentation is a screening and panel discussion on 17 September and a symposium on 19 September.
De Kolonisatie (1983), mural by Basuki Resobowo. Image courtesy of Watch65
About
Watch65 is a Netherlands-based voluntary association that is committed to the ongoing fight to uphold justice for the victims of gross violations of human rights in Indonesia. Founded in 2018, Watch65 brings together activists, writers, journalists, researchers and political exiles who participated as volunteers in the landmark International People’s Tribunal on Crimes Against Humanity in Indonesia 1965.
Lawan! is co-produced by Framer Framed and Watch65. Remembering and Solidarity-Making: 60 years after 1965 is commissioned by Watch65 and co-produced by Watch65 and Framer Framed. Remembering and Solidarity-Making: 60 years after 1965 is supported by VFonds; Amsterdam Centre for Conflict Studies (ACCS), University of Amsterdam; Internationaal Instituut voor Social Geschiedenis (IISG); and KITLV/Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies.
Framer Framed is supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science; Amsterdam Fund for the Arts; Municipality of Amsterdam; and VriendenLoterij Fonds.
Collectives / Diaspora / Indonesia / Colonial history / Art and Activism /
Exhibitions
Exhibition: Lawan!
An exhibition that brings attention to the legacies of post-colonial imperialist expansion in the Indonesian archipelago and West Papua
Network
