Oriental Circus Indonesia Presents New Witnesses to Refute Allegations of Abuse

4 hours ago 1

April 22, 2025 | 07:58 am

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Oriental Circus Indonesia (OCI) refutes various allegations of violence and exploitation made by former circus workers. In a press conference held in Central Jakarta today, Monday, April 21, 2025, OCI presented two new witnesses in an effort to counter these allegations.

One of the witnesses, Murni, a 53-year-old former OCI circus elephant trainer, denied the claims of circus workers being forced to eat elephant feces during training. "During my time at OCI taking care of the elephants, I have never heard or seen any stories of workers being forced to eat elephant feces," Murni said.

Previously, a number of former OCI circus workers claimed to have experienced exploitation since the 1970s. Meiliana Damayanti, for example, stated that she had been subjected to inhumane treatment by the owners and managers of OCI, including being fed animal feces, chained, and separated from her biological child.

Meiliana, who is affectionately known as Butet, admitted to being forced to eat animal feces for stealing beef when she was 10 years old. "I was fed elephant excrement. They treated me in a completely inhumane way," she said when meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Human Rights in South Jakarta, last Tuesday, April 15.

Butet also recounted being physically abused and having her legs chained by the family of the OCI owner. According to her testimony, she never felt any affection there and never received formal education.

Butet decided to leave OCI in 1994 after giving birth to a daughter there. When she was heavily pregnant and after giving birth, she claims she was forced to perform on the circus stage. "I was not able to breastfeed at all," she said.

In her testimony as a witness, Murni also denied these accusations. She confirmed never seeing Butet perform while 8 months pregnant. "That's not true, because I was her elephant trainer. A pregnant person cannot ride an elephant while holding on and walking," she said.

Meanwhile, Girah, another witness presented by OCI, claimed to have never witnessed any exploitation from an early age as reported by former circus players. "I have been working at Mr. Hadi's place since December 15, 1982 until now, my job is to help with household affairs and sometimes watch the children," he said. Hadi referred to here is Hadi Manansang, the founder of OCI.

He denied rumors that Butet's daughter, Debora, had been trained in the circus since she was two years old. "Debora has indeed been at Mr. Hadi's house, but not for training, just to play," he said.

Girah also ensured that the adopted children living in his employer's house receive the same food and treatment. "If there's a cook, they cook chicken, everyone eats chicken, there's eggs, milk, vegetables, fruits, complete nutrition," Girah said.

He also testified that Frans Manansang, Hadi's son who is one of the founders of Taman Safari Indonesia (TSI), is a good person. He refuted the notion that Frans is one of the circus managers known to be cruel.

"Mr. Frans is very kind. Even if employees make mistakes, they are never harmed," he testified.

Nabiila Azzahra contributed to the writing of this article.

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