We note with sadness the passing of Fulbright Alumnus Dr. Samsu Rizal Panggabean, Head of the Master’s Program in Peace and Conflict Resolution and Secretary of Center for Peace and Security Studies, Gadjah Mada University on Thursday, September 7 in Yogyakarta. (See the following obituary in Tempo here).

Dr. Panggabean received a Fulbright grant in 1994 to study for a master’s degree in conflict analysis & resolution at George Mason University; he returned to Indonesia and his home university of Gadjah Mada University with an MA in 1996. He has been a strong public intellectual voice in Indonesia and frequently wrote in local newspapers and journals in Indonesian and English. (See, for example, his 2015 article on “budaya penggeroyokan”/ mob justice at The Conversation). He was also actively involved in conflict resolution in Aceh, Poso, and helped, as a consultant to the Sukma Foundation, with the freeing of Indonesian hostages held in the Philippines in 2016.

He was only 56 years old, and he will be sorely missed by colleagues and students in Yogya, Jakarta, and across the country. We at AMINEF extend our sincere condolences to his family.

Profile at the AMINEF alumni directory