Jakarta museum gives 'official' history lesson

Emmy Fitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Many believe that the "truth" of history, especially in this country, depends on who holds power: it's how they choose to interpret those events for their own motives.

There are so many events in this country's recent past that remain shrouded in uncertainty. Probably the most important and painful for many Indonesians is what really happened on Sept. 30, 1965, which the Soeharto regime drummed into its citizens as an abortive coup d'etat of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

The 14-hectare Lubang Buaya Museum and the Pancasila Sakti Monument -- inaugurated by then president Soeharto on Oct. 1, 1981 -- is supposed to serve as a point of reference about what happened.

The museum and the monument, located some 20 kilometers southeast of downtown Jakarta, are dedicated to the six Army generals and one Army officer who were tortured and killed. It is now under the Indonesian Military (TNI).

The centerpiece of the compound is the Pancasila Sakti Monument with statues of the seven heroes standing near the old well where they were killed.

The Soeharto administration declared them revolutionary heroes.

On the night of the attempted coup, the communist militia squads reportedly threw the bodies of the heroes into the well after torturing and executing them.

Besides the monument and the old well, there is an old house -- believed to be the former headquarters of the rebellious PKI members -- in which there are several dioramas depicting the events leading to TNI's victory over the rebel communists.

Buildings like the security post, command post and the kitchen are also preserved. In the park, visitors can view a collection of old cars used by Soeharto and the slain generals, as well as the truck believed to have been used to abduct and take the Army officers to Lubang Buaya.

There are also photo montages and footage of important events that took place after the killing of the Army generals.

After the fall of Soeharto in May 1998, calls have mounted to take another look at the official version of events. Some have argued that the Soeharto administration kept the truth from the public -- including the terrible bloodletting of accused communists across the country, which were allowed to occur by the officials.

They say the museum was part of its ploy to justify its authoritarian policies against the threat of "subversives" -- basically anyone who challenged their rule.

However, there are historians who argue that the museum should be maintained because the compound has become a part of history with the downfall of Soeharto.

But the coordinator of the Action Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners, Gustaf Dupe, said the compound had to be demolished to give "an honest account of history to the nation".

"There are many living witnesses that could be asked to testify. Call them and make a new museum based on their statements," he said, adding that many of the facts given at the compound were misleading.

"I doubt the gruesome torturing of the generals, like the story about a general's penis being cut off and his eyes gouged out. That's too excessive," he added, of some of the "facts" that were most alarming to the public.

Gustaf agreed that Lubang Buaya could be maintained as a museum representing Soeharto's New Order regime, but he is strongly opposed to it as an educational site for children to learn about the attempted coup.

"Many things are not explained there," he said, "including the massacre of alleged communists."

Historian Anhar Gonggong said the museum should be left as it was, but there were indeed explanations and interpretations that should be added.

"It is a challenge for history teachers to be more critical. Bringing their students to the museum is fruitless if they are not given relatively correct explanations," Anhar remarked.

Teachers also had to face delivering the controversial facts that exist around the bleak period.

"That's a part of the fact that history is not an exact science where truth is absolute," he said.

There are others who do not want the museum tampered with, such as police officer Sukitman.

The museum's exhibits were constructed partly based from the memory of Sukitman, who has hailed the public and the activists involved in trying to stop the "blurring" of history about the failed coup.

"I am telling the truth and I don't want the truth of history denied and changed," Sukitman told Tempo daily recently.

On that dreadful night, Sukitman said he was abducted by PKI members as he was patrolling the area. He vouched that he witnessed the tortures and killings of the Army officers by the communists.

But, with a government indecisive about taking real action to set the controversy straight, the younger generation will have to be smarter and more discerning about the historical facts presented to them.

That may be hard if not impossible for the stream of schoolchildren who continue their field trips to "learn" only one side of the story.

"The peak season is during the school holidays with groups visiting from outside Jakarta, as well as several students coming from the Greater Jakarta schools, too," museum official Salamat said.