Udin Festival 2026 Held, Soroti Impunity and Ecological Crime

Festival Udin 2026 at the Concert Hall of the Institut Seni Indonesia (ISI) Yogyakarta. (Festival Udin)

BANTUL - The Udin 2026 Festival was officially opened at the Concert Hall of the Indonesian Institute of Arts (ISI) Yogyakarta. This commemoration, which took place from Wednesday, August 13, 2026 to Saturday, August 15, 2026, is a space to continue to demand justice for the murder of journalist of the Harian Bernas, Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin or familiarly called Udin, who has been stalled for 30 years.

Carrying the title "30 Years of Udin Case: Rejecting Silence, Fighting Environmental Destruction", this festival links Udin's critical spirit at the time with various ecological crises. Chairman of the Udin Festival 2026 Committee, Vivi Maulida, sharply highlighted the failure of the state in uncovering the perpetrators of the crime.

Udin himself breathed his last breath at Bethesda Hospital on August 16, 1996 at 16.58 WIB. He suffered fatal injuries to the head after being brutally beaten by an unknown perpetrator at his residence located on Jalan Parangtritis KM 13, Gelangan Samalo Village, Bantul, Yogyakarta Special Region (DIY). The incident occurred three days before he died.

"This case has crossed seven Indonesian presidents, 13 heads of the Indonesian National Police (Kapolri), two DIY governors, 24 heads of the DIY Regional Police (Kapolda), and eight Bantul Regents. None of them have finished who the mastermind behind the murder," said Vivi.

On the other hand, Vivi explained how the escalation of environmental damage today also poses a serious threat to the freedom of expression of civil society groups.

"Ecological crimes are always accompanied by repression. When heavy equipment levels the living space of residents, bullets, legal traps, and digital terror are often directed at journalists, activists, and artists who dare to record the destruction," he said.

Efforts to care for this memory were also carried out by the Yogyakarta Independent Journalists Alliance (AJI) which collaborated with various elements of the student press. Representative of LPM PRESSISI ISI Yogyakarta, Saynediva Malika Putri, emphasized that the student press has concrete moral and political responsibilities.

"Of course it is important for us, as student journalists, not only to be present as recorders of issues and euphoria that occur, both on campus and in the wider social space. More than that, student journalism must stand as a mouthpiece for people who experience injustice," said Saynediva.

Resistance Through Art and Archives

The first day of the festival was also enlivened by the opening of an art exhibition and a curatorial tour entitled "Together with the Witness to Witness". The representative of the curator, Adhi Pandoyo, explained that this exhibition processed the archive about Udin and challenged the artists to respond to human rights issues to structural crimes.

"The Udin case is the key to suing the state's narrative, which always claims that everything is fine," said Adhi.

The exhibition space is filled with a number of works that are full of social criticism. ABDW Art Project, for example, features an installation about the South Trans-Javanese Highway (JJLS) national strategic project in Gunungkidul.

The work entitled Cleret Tahun, Karstku Tabunganku, Penjarahan Gunung Sewu criticizes infrastructure projects that eliminate animal habitats, trigger monkey herds to attack residents' land, and endanger the safety of elderly pedestrians.

The Taring Padi art group also exhibited their visual trilogy, including Human Rights (2021), Human Earth (2021), and Adil and Beradab (2023). Especially for the work of Human Earth, the visuals adapt the form of the West Irian Liberation monument to criticize the expansion of the Freeport mine and the palm oil industry in the land of Papua.

Shifting to the area outside the Concert Hall, an installation from Ibu Berisik entitled Rewang Kenduri Melawan Tirani (2026) also attracted attention. This work borrows the practice of community cooperation in Java, namely the tradition of a feast.

"The collective work of these mothers reminds us of the importance of knitting together among fellow citizens in the midst of a chaotic state," said Adhi.

The installation is also a response to the song "Buat Penyaksi" released by the Kantata Samsara group in 1997. The message of refusing to die with the victim was also sung by the Corong Api group through the facade work entitled Keberanian Udin (2026).

The first day of the Udin Festival 2026 series was completed by the performance art action of Khuluqul Karim who played the figure of Udin, the musical performance of Umar Haen, and the screening of the film The Years of Blur.

The agenda was also enhanced by two public discussion sessions that highlighted the discrimination of the congregation of the Christian Church of Mission for Prosperity (GMS) Bantul as well as the repositioning of the role of journalism in environmental advocacy and legal aid movements.

Festival Udin 2026 presents itself as a space for reflection, education, and public participation that brings together journalists, artists, academics, activists, environmental communities, and the general public to jointly care for the memory of Udin's struggle while voicing the importance of environmental protection.

This festival is expected to be able to expand public awareness that freedom of the press, the right to information, and the right to a healthy environment are inseparable parts of democratic life.

Through the theme "30 Years of Udin's Case: Rejecting Silence, Fighting Environmental Destruction", this festival invites the public to reimagine how Udin's critical spirit will read and respond to various environmental issues that occur today.

The Udin Festival 2026 will take place at the Concert Hall of the Indonesian Institute of Arts (ISI) Yogyakarta on Thursday-Saturday, August 13-15, 2026. Initiated by AJI Yogyakarta and in collaboration with LPM Pressisi, AJI Jakarta, AJI Indonesia, SK Trimurti Journalism School, Sigab, PR2Media, LKiS, TrenAsia, Mongabay and supported by Blok Cold Brew.

Festival Udin 2026 cooperates with media publications with Tempo, Tirto ID, Project Multatuli, Magdalene, Konde, Radio Unisia, Mojok, VOI, Tapak, Tribun Jogja, Ayo Yogya, Berita DIY, Portal Yogya, Semut Api Media, Gejayan ID, Pandangan Jogja, Suara Jogja, Suara Aisyiyah, Solider News, Kampung Gusdurian, Suara Hijau, Independent ID, Bandung Bergerak, Kawan Bergerak, Arah Media, and Art ID.