Sept. 30 tragedy still leaves many scars unhealed<\/p>\n
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
After 37 years, the Sept. 30, 1965 coup blamed on the former
\nIndonesian Communist Party (PKI) still remains a mystery and a
\nsource of suffering to those labeled as PKI and their
\ndescendants.<\/p>\n
A number of documents and testimonies which spring up
\nperiodically contradict the government's version of events of the
\ncoup which led to the murder of some 500,000 people.<\/p>\n
The latest version came from CIA documents detailing the
\nU.S.'s secret Cold War era support for the anti-communist
\ncampaign targeting the PKI which was believed to be allied with
\nfounding president Sukarno.<\/p>\n
The documents, released by the U.S. State Department last
\nyear, show a U.S. plan to funnel tens of thousands of dollars to
\nan action group, which was said to be army-inspired but civilian-
\nstaffed.<\/p>\n
Historian Asvi Warman Adam from the Indonesian Institute of
\nSciences (LIPI) said the PKI may not have been the only culprit.<\/p>\n
\"We can see that the U.S. was playing a role in the tragedy,
\nfew of the PKI elite were involved, and there were also conflicts
\nwithin the Army. The government should analyze these versions in
\norder to reveal the truth so we may reconcile with the past,\" he
\ntold The Jakarta Post by telephone on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Seven Army generals were killed in the coup's aftermath. They
\nwere believed to be Sukarno loyalists who were opponents of Lt.
\nGen. Soeharto's faction in the Army. Soeharto was commanding the
\nArmy's Strategic Reverse (Kostrad) at that time.<\/p>\n
Under the command of Soeharto, who later succeeded Sukarno as
\npresident until May 1998, at least 500,000 people labeled as PKI
\nmembers or supporters were slain while millions of their
\ndescendants were, and still are, deprived of their rights as
\ncitizens.<\/p>\n
The number, according to Asvi, does not include the victim's
\nfamilies and relatives who were also killed in the carnage. The
\nofficial number given by the government is 78,000 people, with
\n300 listed as nationalists or from religious groups.<\/p>\n
Around 10,000 others were jailed on Buru Island, most of them
\nwithout standing trial. Many others fled overseas.<\/p>\n
Dependents of those labeled as PKI supporters lost their
\nrights as citizens to have positions in the government or to work
\nas civil servants, while they are obliged to report their
\nwhereabouts to police regularly.<\/p>\n
The Air Force -- which at that time was Sukarno's favorite was
\nalso been blamed for the coup with several top officers such as
\nthe former chief of the Air Force, marshall Omar Dhani, jailed --
\nhas \"been marginalized\" for more than three decades.<\/p>\n
Rear Marshall (ret.) Sri Mulyono Herlambang stated in a book
\ntitled Menyingkap Kabut Halim (Unveiling the Mist in Halim), that
\nthe Air Force had been accused of planning to destroy Kostrad
\nHeadquarters in Gambir, Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"Many facts had been manipulated for the interests of many
\ngroups, including politicians and the military. Now, we want our
\ntarnished image to be rehabilitated but the government has yet to
\ndo so.\"<\/p>\n
Last year, former president Abdurrahman Wahid proposed
\nrevoking a 1966 Provisional People's Consultative Assembly decree
\nbanning communism and the teaching of Marxism and socialism in
\nIndonesia, only to meet strong opposition from those claiming to
\nbe victims of the PKI in the past.<\/p>\n
Hardline groups have even seized and burned books they believe
\nwere aimed at disseminating teachings on communism.<\/p>\n
Human rights campaigners have called for the establishment of
\na truth and reconciliation commission to allow the country to
\ncome to terms with its traumatic past, but the House of
\nRepresentatives had yet to debate its establishment.<\/p>\n
Coordinator of the National Committee of the 1965 Human
\nTragedy, Gustaf Dupe, criticized the government for its lack of
\npolitical will to lift discriminatory regulations against those
\nwho bear the label as PKI, a label that was usually given to
\nSoeharto's opponents in a bid to justify their elimination.<\/p>\n
\"As a first step, the Minister of Home Affairs can revoke a
\n1981 instruction which gives authority down to the smallest
\nadministration to monitor those indicated as PKI members.<\/p>\n
\"Without clarifying the tragedy and rehabilitation of the PKI-
\naccused, how can this nation reconcile?,\" he told the Post.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sept-30-tragedy-still-leaves-many-scars-unhealed-1447893297",
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