Hundreds of senior supporters of Megawati Soekarnoputri (Promeg) gathered once again on Pandegiling Street, Surabaya, on Friday (24/7/2026) night. The presence of around 1,500 people aimed to commemorate three decades of the dark event of the July Twenty-Seventh Riot (Kudatuli) that occurred on July 27, 1996.
The Pandegiling area was chosen because it holds deep historical value for the party's journey. The house of the late Ir. Sucipto, former Chairman of the East Java PDI Regional Leadership Council (DPD) from Megawati's faction, was at that time the defense headquarters and movement center for cadres in Surabaya in fighting against the repression of the New Order regime.
Former two-term Mayor of Surabaya, Bambang DH, who was also present, recalled the difficult times of that struggle. Despite now being 66 years old and appearing physically thinner, his voice was still loud during his speech as he recounted his experience of hiding in a chicken coop to evade security forces following the dissolution of the PDI Congress under the Soerjadi faction in Palu in 1998.
Echoing Bambang, one of the historical witnesses who was still a teenager at the time, Nanang Sutrisno, stated that this commemoration is a form of moral responsibility. The former member of the Surabaya City Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) for the 1999-2004 period emphasized that age does not fade the calling of the struggle for senior cadres, including the "Becak (Rickshaw) Division", who are now on average over 70 years old.
This historical reflection event was also attended by member of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) Puti Guntur Soekarno, representatives of the Indonesian Democracy Defense Team (TPDI), and academics. Besides a discussion titled "Caring for History, Bequeathing the Struggle", this commemoration was enlivened by an exhibition of photos of the struggle by Baktiono, which runs from July 24 to 28, 2026.
