I was in my hotel room in Yogya at the end of August 2013. Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. When I opened it, two elderly men were standing before me. Leo Mulyono introduced himself and his friend, Suparto, who is also an ex-political prisoner. I was really happy that they were willing to travel to this hotel to meet me. We had a chat in my room for a while, but then he whispered: ‘The anti-communist groups are still strong and aggressive in this city. That's why we must still be very careful. You should not stay here.’ He said that he could ask his friend, another ex-political prisoner, whether I could stay at his friend's house: ‘But his house is really basic. Do you mind?’

‘I can sleep anywhere. I don't even mind sleeping on the floor,’ I said. I used to do it when I was a child. Leo and Suparto left my hotel and about an hour later, they came back with Buce, another ex-political prisoner. They helped me pack my stuff, and all of us walked to Buce's house, which was only about ten-minute walk from the hotel. At Buce's house, we chatted over snacks and coffee. This is Leo's story.

I was born on 21 August 1945 in Blora, Central Java. I went to the ISI [Institut Seni Indonesia, or the Indonesian Institute of Arts], which used to be called ASRI. I studied graphic illustration there.

When I was in my second year, I joined CGMI [Consentrasi Gerakan Mahasiswa Indonesia, or the Unified Movement of Indonesian Students]. I was also active in the art house Sanggar Bumi Tarung (established by people from Lekra). There, I met Djoko Pekik, a very talented painter who was also imprisoned by Soeharto. After Djoko Pekik got out of prison, he had to work as a tailor for a few years, just to survive, but recently he has been working as a painter again, and his paintings are well-known now.

On 1 October 1965, my friends asked me to take part in the demonstration to support the revolutionary council and to oppose the Council of Generals, as we considered the Council of Generals sided with the bureaucratic capitalists and the new rich.