JAKARTA: The Human Rights Minister has urged The National Police's Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) to reopen an investigation into the alleged assault and exploitation of Oriental Circus Indonesia (OCI) performers.
According to the ministry's Director General for Human Rights Services and Compliance Munafrizal Manan, the OCI was suspected of committing four distinct human rights violations against its performers.
“These include violations of their rights to identity, freedom from economic exploitation, access to education and the right to safety and social security,” he said on Wednesday (May 7), as reported by Kompas.com.
"The circus management is also suspected of physically abusing and sexually assaulting its performers, and allegedly engaging in practices that can be categorised as modern slavery," he added.
Eight former workers of the Oriental Circus Indonesia (OCI) recently visited the Human Rights Ministry and the House of Representatives, demanding justice for the abuse they claim to have endured while employed as child performers in the circus during the 1970s.
Founded in 1971 by Hadi Manansang, the OCI was one of the country’s first and most popular modern circus groups. It remained active until 1997, with a final commemorative performance held in 2020 to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
Hadi has since passed away.
Hadi's children, Jansen Manansang, Frans Manansang and Tony Sumampau, who also performed in the circus, went on to establish Taman Safari Indonesia in 1981.
Former OCI performers have accused them of being involved in the alleged abuse that occurred during the circus's operation.
According to the performers' legal representative, the circus management allegedly took in more than 60 underprivileged children, some as young as two years old, from their families and trained them as performers.
They were reportedly denied salaries, education and any documentation of their identities or family ties.
Former performers have also alleged that circus management physically assaulted them, subjected them to electric shocks, shackled them and even forced them to eat animal faeces.
One female performer claimed that the circus separated her from her newborn baby, who was later trained to become a performer as well.
These performers previously reported their experiences to both the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and the police in 1997.
At the time, Komnas HAM, found that the OCI had violated several basic rights of the child performers, including their rights to identity, education and social protection.
The commission recommended that the circus improve the children's conditions and settle the disputes amicably out of court.
The police, meanwhile, closed the alleged abuse case in 1999, citing a lack of evidence.
Human Rights Ministry's Munafrizal stressed the urgency of the police reopening the investigation, noting that the ministry lacks the legal authority to summon former OCI management for questioning or to access crucial documents, such as those related to the adoption of the child performer.
“This lack of authority severely hampers our ability to verify the facts,” he said.
“Our investigation capacity is very limited and depends entirely on the cooperation of the parties involved.” Munafrizal also emphasised the need for the police to investigate the exact timeline of the alleged abuse to determine whether the crimes fall within the statute of limitations.
“Although this is officially a recommendation, it is binding for the police, and they are obligated to follow through,” he said as quoted by Tempo.co.
Tony of Taman Safari Indonesia has denied the allegations made by former OCI performers stating that while the management did use rattan sticks to hit the child performers, it was considered a "normal disciplinary measure" at the time.
He also claimed that the children were given pocket money and access to schooling following recommendations from Komnas HAM.
The OCI legal team has offered a settlement of Rp 150 million (US$9,000) to the former workers, claiming that four of them have accepted the offer. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
