Jakarta museum gives 'official' history lesson

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.