The final words of defiance<\/p>\n
Lie Hua, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
--------------------------------
\nRevolusi Belum Selesai -- Kumpulan Pidato Presiden Soekarno
\n30 September 1965 - Pelengkap Nawaksara
\n(The Revolution is Not Over Yet Collected Speeches of President
\nSoekarno's addresses -- September 30, 1965 - Supplement to
\nNawaksara)
\nEdited by Budi Setiyono-Bonnie Triyana
\nForeword by Dr. Aswi Warman Adam
\nMessias, Jakarta, July 2003
\n2 vols (xxxiv+ 446 pp & xxxiv+ 456 pp)<\/p>\n
-------------------------------------------<\/p>\n
Sept. 30, 1965, is a black day in the history of modern
\nIndonesia. The assassination of seven generals in the wee hours
\nof Oct. 1 sparked a ghastly orgy of bloodletting and vigilantism
\nin the ensuing months.<\/p>\n
The murders were blamed on the Indonesian Communist Party
\n(PKI), and hundreds of thousands of Indonesians (the actual
\nnumber has never been documented) accused of being PKI
\nsympathizers were slain or forced into exile.<\/p>\n
The political consequences were also enormous. The country's
\nfounding president, Sukarno, ailing with kidney disease and other
\nailments, gradually lost his grip on power as Soeharto, one of
\nthe top Army leaders who, miraculously, was excluded from the
\nSept. 30 hit-list, installed his New Order regime.<\/p>\n
The 61 speeches collected in these two volumes, gleaned from a
\ntotal of 103 unpublished addresses delivered between Sept. 30,
\n1965, to Jan. 10, 1967, provide a wealth of information about the
\ncountry's situation and the defiance of Sukarno in those fateful
\ndays.<\/p>\n
It's for these very reasons that they could not have been
\npublished during the autocratic New Order regime, which collapsed
\nwith Soeharto's resignation in May 1998.<\/p>\n
Sukarno (the book uses the old spelling of his name) was
\nrenowned as an ardent, dynamic orator. An eloquent, intelligent,
\nwell-read man, he could speak extemporaneously for hours,
\ncaptivating the masses and fueling their revolutionary spirit.<\/p>\n
The speeches take the reader back to that era, and also show
\nthe seething anger of this proud man.<\/p>\n
The collection opens with Soekarno's address at a national
\nengineering conference on Sept. 30, 1965, in which he urged the
\naudience to continue building Indonesia's own brand of socialism.<\/p>\n
There is an interruption of several days before the Oct. 3
\nradio address to the nation concerning the attempted coup. In
\nthis address, he reaffirmed his position as Supreme Commander of
\nthe Indonesian Armed Forces and denied the allegation that the
\nAir Force was involved in the abortive coup. He also warned
\nmembers of the Army and the Air Force not to allow themselves to
\nbe pitted against each other.<\/p>\n
But events were already spiraling out of his control. On Oct.
\n16, Soeharto, then major-general, was installed as
\nminister\/commander-in-chief of the Army. In his address on this
\noccasion, Sukarno refuted rumors that he had lost power and
\nconcluded by instructing Soeharto to carry out his duties to the
\nutmost of his abilities.<\/p>\n
Despite the inexorable change of leadership -- Soeharto taking
\ncharge, Sukarno an increasingly lonely figure at the top -- the
\nlatter's fiery speeches, which had stood him in good stead
\nthrough the War of Independence against the Dutch and standing up
\nto the \"Neo-Colonial powers\" in the late 1950s and 1960s,
\ncontinued.<\/p>\n
On March 11, 1966, there was a transfer of power of sorts to
\nSoeharto (the document, however, has disappeared from the
\narchives). Yet, it is interesting to note that in his address at
\nthe closing of the general session of the Provisional People's
\nConsultative Assembly (MPRS) on July 6, 1966, Sukarno took pains
\nto assert his power, emphasizing that his March 11 executive
\norder to Soeharto was not to be construed as a transfer of
\nauthority, as was reported in the foreign media.<\/p>\n
He reiterated that it was merely an order to Soeharto to
\nensure the government could run well.<\/p>\n
In many of the speeches, it's not a case of reading between
\nthe lines for meaning; Sukarno's resistance to Soeharto is
\nclearly evident. When speaking before the commanders-in-chief of
\nthe Army, Air Force, the Navy and the Police, for example,
\nSukarno said: \"MPRS has appointed me the Supreme Leader of the
\nRevolution. Honestly, not you Soebandrio, not you Leimena ......
\nnot you Soeharto, not you Soeharto ...\"<\/p>\n
It's telling that Soeharto's is the only name repeated twice.<\/p>\n
He tried to defend his power on every occasion, speaking like
\na supreme commander, even as control was wrested from his grasp
\nby a younger, more powerful usurper.<\/p>\n
In the last address in this collection, supplementing his
\naccountability report to the MPRS on Jan. 10, 1967, he sounds
\nlike someone desperately trying to defend himself.<\/p>\n
\"If you talk about Truth and Justice, I also demand Truth and
\nJustice. ... Is it fair that I alone must be responsible for the
\ndrop in our economy? ... I don't think it is fair to hold only
\none person responsible for all these matters.\"<\/p>\n
They are the words of a fallen hero, a leader who once
\ncommanded respect from his people and gave orders at will who is
\nnow seeking pity as his world crumbles around him. That is the
\nreal lesson of history.<\/p>",
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