http://thejakartaglobe.com/culture/the-forgotten-history-of-1965/315358
June 30, 2009
Armando Siahaan
(JG Illustration)
The Forgotten History of 1965
Countries and their citizens often have to face unpleasant truths about sordid
episodes of the past. Germans have had to deal with the slaughter of millions
of people of Jewish descent and others deemed undesirable under the leadership
of Adolph Hitler. The Japanese still struggle to fully acknowledge their
history of aggression and exploitation in Asia during the first half of the
20th century. And Chinese party officials remain reluctant to acknowledge the
Tiananmen Square crackdown of 1989.
Here in Indonesia, there is yet to be full official recognition of the dark
years of 1965 to 1966. Under the reign of Suharto, from 1966 to 1998, the only
major event recognized from those two bloody years was a failed coup in 1965 in
which six generals were killed. Textbooks of the era record the night known as
the September 30th Movement, but make no mention of the mass killings of
suspected Indonesian Communist Party members that followed.
"There has not been great public knowledge about the 1965 mass killings in
Indonesia," said Katherine McGregor, a historian from the University of
Melbourne. "Maybe at a community level people know, but not at the national
level."
The magnitude of the anticommunist massacre was unprecedented in Indonesia's
history. Historians generally agree that the number of people killed during
this systematic slaughter ranged from 500,000 to one million. The killings
largely took place in Java and Bali, but also elsewhere in the country, and
were carried out with extreme brutality.
Throughout the 32 years of Suharto's dictatorship, the story was untold or
became distorted, and generations grew up with little or no knowledge of the
slaughter. In 1966, the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) and the existence of
communism in Indonesia were legally banned. Subsequently, hundreds of thousands
of Communist Party members and sympathizers were arrested and forced into
exile.
Propaganda tools, such as the film "Pengkhianatan G30SPKI" ("The Betrayal of
the September 30th Movement by the Indonesian Communist Party") and the Lubang
Buaya Monument that marks the place the generals were buried, were exploited by
Suharto to demonize and depict the Communist Party as brutal, barbaric and
"evil." These became part of official history, according to Adrian Vickers, a
professor of Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Sydney.
And despite the fall of Suharto in 1998, Indonesia still gives prominence to
the generals' murders over the massacre.
"It's very difficult to move beyond a certain frame of reference that was
created by the New Order regime," Vickers said. "We need to change the terms of
history."
Suggesting a strong unwillingness to face up to the country's dark past, the
government has yet to officially recognize the 1965 mass killings.
Asvi Warman Adam of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences said that the national
school curriculum has yet to include a section on the event. The New Order
version is intact, emphasizing the sole culpability of the Indonesian Communist
Party for the September 30th Movement.
In the latest version of "Sejarah Nasional Indonesia" ("Indonesian National
History"), from state-owned publishing company Balai Pustaka, which is used as
a reference for history textbooks, the mass killings are omitted, Asvi said, as
well as any hint of human rights violations by the Indonesian Armed Forces .
"The book only mentions that the Indonesian Armed Forces crushed the Communist
Party and that subsequently the government established a fact-finding
commission that reported directly to the current president," Asvi said. "But it
didn't mention what was reported."
In 2008, the National Commission on Human Rights created a team to conduct a
formal inquiry into whether there was sufficient evidence of human rights
violations linked to the 1965 mass killings. But the head of the team,
Nurkholis, has said that progress is relatively slow due to the logistics of
interviewing witnesses and continued opposition from the military and Muslim
groups.
"Unless the government plays a more active role in unraveling the truth,
history will remain untold," Asvi said.
However, some people have no doubt the truth should be revealed.
"It's about historical justice," said the University of Melbourne's McGregor.
"It's about acknowledging the suffering of the people in the past and trying to
resolve a great moment of crisis and tragedy in Indonesian history."
Young Perspectives
Gladys Samantha, 21, university student
Gladys Samantha knows little of the significance of 1965 in Indonesian history.
"I'm very weak when it comes to Indonesian history," she said, adding that, in
general, history has never been considered an important subject for Indonesian
students. "I don't think we even have a history major here [at Atma Jaya
University]," she said.
She finally recalled that 1965 was the year the Indonesian Communist Party
killed members of the Indonesian Armed Forces. "It's G30SPKI, right?" she said.
But she had never heard of the mass killings that took place after the alleged
coup.
"It's either not properly publicized or someone is trying to cover the truth
behind it," she said. "How could I not know about a historical event that big?"
She didn't advocate taking legal action against the perpetrators. "The idea of
an investigation is impossible because it happened too long ago. What we need
is for the government to circulate more information about this historical event
for educational purposes."
Ivana Kusumadewi, 21, law student
"Nineteen sixty-five was the year when the Indonesian Communist Party killed
high-ranking Indonesian military officers," Ivana Kusumadewi says.
Ever since high school, she has referred to the Communists as "evil."
Ivana said her grandmother hid her aunt immediately after she was born in 1965
because she feared the baby might be shot by the Communists.
Ivana knew nothing about the mass killings that ensued but, basing her argument
on her education and family accounts, she thought a purge of Communists was
acceptable.
"It was wrong for the Communists to kill the generals," she said. "It was
better to crush and eliminate the Communists than have them commit more
murders."
Asked if the country should teach the full story, she simply said: "What for?
The Suharto era has ended."
She then seemed to have second thoughts, perhaps triggered by her law studies.
"Wouldn't [the massacre] be a human rights violation?" she asked. "As long as
there is reason for a further struggle, then perhaps we need to address the
issue. But since not a lot of people know, I think it's impossible to take
further action on it."
Charles Sihombing, 20, English student
Although Charles Sihombing knows that 1965 is generally known for the attempted
Communist coup, he believes the history of the era has been distorted.
Charles said he learned from books, newspaper articles and personal accounts
that 1965 was when an alliance was formed to take over Sukarno's government.
"The movement was driven by the people of the [subsequent] New Order regime,"
he said.
He had heard of the mass killings but did not know how many people were
slaughtered and believes that Suharto's government distorted the truth.
"The government was scared that citizens would know about their dark past. So
they killed the Communists to clear their name. By erasing history, people
wouldn't know about their wrongdoings."
He believes the distorted version of history remains intact.
"It is important to discover more about this history because it is one way for
us to learn about who we are," he said.
As to what should happen to any perpetrators if they were caught, he said: "I'm
certain they're already carrying a heavy moral burden.
"If we can find a criminal case against the killings, then we should punish
[those responsible]."
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