A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #364 - History - 1965: The Forgotten Genocide of Communists in Indonesia (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

It is a major event in modern history, and yet, global memory has 
practically erased it, even in its own country. Sixty years ago, the 
massacre of communists from the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) began 
in Indonesia, leaving hundreds of thousands dead. These are crimes whose 
perpetrators will never be punished and who still live peacefully within 
Indonesian society today. ---- Let's begin by setting the scene: 
Indonesia is a peninsular country made up of 17,000 islands, 922 of 
which are inhabited. The fourth most populous country in the world, it 
currently has 285 million inhabitants and already had 93 million at the 
time of the events discussed in this article. More than half of its 
population is concentrated on Java, the largest island in the 
archipelago. With 87% of its population being Muslim, it is the largest 
Muslim-majority country in the world. Its location, at the crossroads of 
the Indian and Pacific Oceans and between Asia and Oceania, gives it 
great geopolitical importance. This made it a target for colonial 
invasions, especially since the country is a major producer of spices.

The Portuguese settled there at the beginning of the 16th century  , 
then were driven out in 1605 by the Dutch, who gradually made it one of 
their main colonies - a colonial history still widely visible in the 
Netherlands as well as in Indonesia.

Although the 19th century  was spent under this colonial domination, a 
national movement emerged in the 20th century  and led to the country's 
independence and the proclamation of the Republic of Indonesia in 1945. 
The country is extremely culturally diverse: more than 600 ethnic groups 
and 700 regional languages, five religions recognized by the State... 
This contributed to the emergence of numerous separatist movements in 
the 20 years following decolonization, leading to strong political 
instability.

Nationalism, religion and communism
The first parliamentary elections were held in 1955, but the resulting 
Assembly was dissolved in 1957 by President Sukarno, who had been 
elected at the time of independence in 1945. In the name of political 
stability, he implemented "  guided democracy  ," a euphemism for an 
authoritarian and centralized form of government: the members of the 
Assembly were directly appointed by the "  President for Life  ." In an 
attempt to pacify the country, he proposed the concept of Nasakom, for " 
 Nasionalism, Agama, Komunism  " (nationalism, religion, communism), as 
the state doctrine. He sought to unify the three main political forces 
in the country: the military and nationalist parties notably the 
Indonesian National Party (PNI) the conservative Muslim organizations 
primarily represented by the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and the Indonesian 
Communist Party (Partai Komunis Indonesia).

Soekarno (1901-1970) was the first president of the Republic of 
Indonesia following decolonization.
Leiden University
Founded in 1914, initially as the ISDV, while Indonesia was still under 
Dutch occupation, the PKI spearheaded several insurrectionary movements 
against colonial rule. After violent tensions with conservatives 
following decolonization, the party grew dramatically in the 1950s, with 
support from Mao Zedong's China. From 7,000 members in 1952, it swelled 
to 150,000 by 1954 and controlled the country's largest trade union, 
SOBSI. In the 1955 elections, it garnered 16.4% of the vote, making it 
the fourth largest political  force in the country. Its growth did not 
stop: the party had 1.5 million members in 1958, a figure that would 
reach 3.5 million in 1965, making it the third largest communist party 
in the world, after those of China and the Soviet Union. It included a 
women's organization, the Gerwani[1], which had more than 650,000 
members in 1957.

This growth was accompanied by increasingly strong activism. Through its 
peasant wing, the BTI, they occupied farmland owned by wealthy 
landowners, most of whom were voters or activists of the PNI or the NU. 
These two forces began to fuel a growing anti-communism and to ally 
themselves against the actions of the PKI. The latter benefited from the 
protection of President Sukarno, who saw them as an opposition force 
capable of maintaining a balance against the powerful Indonesian army 
and the immense religious influence of the NU. The PKI had fully 
accepted the new regime of "  managed democracy  " and had adopted a 
policy of "  united national front  " in 1959, prioritizing national 
interests over class interests. From 1963 onward, the rapprochement 
between the President and the PKI intensified, raising tensions between 
the opposing sides and attracting the watchful eye of the United States. 
In the midst of the Cold War, they saw a great danger of a major Asian 
country falling into communism, which could trigger a fall of all of 
Southeast Asia according to the "  domino theory  "[2]. It is in this 
context that a dramatic shift will take place.

A coup d'état as a pretext
On the night of September 30 to October 1, 1965  , officers of the 
presidential guard seized several key locations in the capital, Jakarta. 
Six generals from the Indonesian Army's high command were abducted by 
the soldiers, taken to Halim Air Base, and executed. On the morning of 
October 1 ,  the group, which presented itself as "  progressive 
officers  ," announced the formation of a "  Revolutionary Council  " 
and claimed to have acted in preemption of a potential conservative 
coup. But contrary to its expectations, it did not receive the support 
of President Sukarno.

The PKI's precise role in this attempted coup is unclear: while some of 
its leaders were involved, the initiative does not appear to have come 
from the party as a whole, which maintained an ambiguous position on the 
events, essentially adhering to its support for the president. Today, 
all indications suggest that it was the work of a minority of military 
officers sympathetic to the PKI's ideology, who sought its support after 
the fact.

In the hours following the coup, General Suharto seized control of the 
army and launched an offensive that recaptured the capital and Halim Air 
Base within 24 hours. He immediately established himself as a public 
figure and challenged the president's authority, accusing him of 
inaction against the PKI, which he held responsible for the coup. 
Whether or not it originated directly from the PKI, the attempted coup 
served as a pretext for the bloody purge of communists.

General Suharto (1921-2008) was the principal leader of the 
anti-communist massacres.
Evers, Joost/Anefo
The right wing seized upon the events and launched a violent 
anti-communist propaganda campaign. Jakarta was plastered with posters 
calling to "  crush the traitors of the PKI  " and the "  whores of 
Gerwani  . " Accused of being "  traitors to the homeland  " by 
nationalists, and " godless  "  and criminals by religious 
conservatives, a slogan quickly spread: " Sikat!  "  " Eliminate  them !  "

A political genocide
On October 8th, the PKI headquarters in Jakarta was stormed by 
militants. The massacres began. The modus operandi was similar almost 
everywhere: civilian militias formed, composed, depending on the region, 
of conservative activists, Muslim, Catholic, or Hindu religious 
fundamentalists, but also sometimes of criminals recruited for the 
occasion, or, more often, of student groups. While the army occasionally 
participated in the violence, for the most part it simply protected the 
militias that carried out the massacres. Everywhere, communist activists 
were hunted down , often shot or lynched immediately , sometimes after 
arrest. Some were sentenced to death . Torture was commonplace in 
detention. Rape was also regularly used against women. In some regions, 
bodies were displayed in the streets to contribute to the climate of 
terror. The homes of victims and their families were confiscated, 
sometimes burned.

An example of the virulent anti-communist propaganda that fueled the 
massacres.
Davidel
We now know that while the United States did not actively participate in 
the massacres, it fanned the flames, notably by disseminating 
disinformation campaigns aimed at inciting clashes between the army and 
the PKI. At a time when the Vietnam War was escalating, the American 
government was only too happy to see the "  Indonesian problem  " 
"resolved  "  without foreign military intervention, simply by " letting 
things take their course  ."

The massacres lasted almost two years, until the autumn of 1967. The 
death toll remains very difficult to determine even today, but it is 
estimated at at least 500,000, with some estimates reaching as high as 3 
million. The figure of one million deaths is generally accepted. To this 
must be added nearly 700,000 prisoners, incarcerated for periods of up 
to 30 years, in conditions where violence continues, as anti-communism 
remains deeply entrenched in Indonesian society.

"  New Order  "
The main perpetrator of these massacres, General Suharto, seized the 
opportunity to take power. President Sukarno faced increasing 
opposition, notably accused of being too lenient with the PKI. In the 
spring of 1966, he signed documents granting Suharto full powers with 
the mission of "  restoring order  ." The PKI was officially banned, and 
Suharto officially succeeded Sukarno in March 1967. He quickly 
established a new, even more authoritarian political system under the 
name "  New Order  ." He remained in power until 1998.

During the 30 years of rule following the genocide, only the regime's 
official version was disseminated, with a significantly downplayed death 
toll: the narrative of "  the betrayal of the September 30th Movement 
and the PKI  ," recounted in a propaganda film of the same name released 
in 1984 and broadcast every year on September 30th until 1998. Even 
after Suharto's fall, the subject remained taboo, and all initiatives 
for remembrance or reparations failed. In 2016, the Indonesian Minister 
of Defense declared that the victims "  deserved to die  . "

The Act of Killing , directed in 2012 by Joshua Oppenheimer
The film retraces in a raw and brutal way how the perpetrators of the 
1965 massacres continue to live their lives peacefully, between denial 
and glorification of their actions.
This brutal reality of a society built on the justification and 
minimization of genocide is notably depicted in Joshua Oppenheimer's 
2012 film, * The Act of Killing *, which shows perpetrators of genocide 
proudly recounting their crimes, living freely and with impunity in the 
same society as the families of their victims. It would be naive to 
think that truth and justice always prevail: even after such crimes, 
their recognition and remembrance remain a struggle.

N. Bartosek (UCL Alsace)

CHRONOLOGY
August 17, 1945: Proclamation of the independence of Indonesia by 
Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta, who became president and vice-president 
respectively.

December 27, 1949: Creation of the Republic of the United States of 
Indonesia. The Netherlands recognizes its independence.

In 1955, the first parliamentary elections were held, establishing an 
Assembly. The PKI garnered 16.4% of the vote, becoming the 4th largest 
political force in the country.

In 1957, Sukarno dissolved the Assembly and established "  managed 
democracy  ", becoming "  president for life  ".

In 1958, the PKI exceeded one million members.

On the night of September 30, 1965 , the "  September 30 Movement  " 
assassinated six generals from the army. It presented itself as being 
close to the PKI.

On October 1 ,  1965, under the control of General Suharto, the army 
regained control of the capital. Violent anti-communist campaigns began.

On October 8, 1965, the PKI headquarters in Jakarta was attacked, and 
the massacres began. Estimates range from 500,000 to 3 million deaths.

In March 1966, Suekarno was forced to transfer power to Sueharto, who 
became acting president.

On March 12, 1967, Suharto became president of the Republic of 
Indonesia. He established  the "New Order  ," an authoritarian political 
system.

On March 21, 1998, following major riots in Jakarta, amid a severe 
economic crisis, Suharto resigned.

In 2004, an Indonesian law mandated the formation of a "  Truth and 
Reconciliation Commission  " regarding the massacres. The project was 
ultimately abandoned in 2006.

To validate

[1]Gerakan Wanita Indonesia: " Indonesian Women's Movement "

[2]The domino theory is an American geopolitical theory from the Cold 
War, according to which the shift of one country towards communism would 
lead to similar changes in neighboring countries. This theory was used 
on several occasions to justify American interventionism, notably in 
Vietnam from 1965 onwards.

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?1965-Le-genocide-oublie-des-communistes-en-Indonesie
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