Past atrocities still create fear

ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Blitar

Traveling along the unpaved road in Lorejo in the South Blitar area seemed endless. Limestone rocks covering the two-kilometer road made it difficult for vehicles to traverse the four-meter wide road, not to mention the potholes, 10 to 20 centimeters deep, along the road that at times severely rocked the vehicle.

After about 30 minutes traveling down this road, it suddenly ends in front of the No. 2 Lorejo elementary school, then continues on as a walking track winding through the hilly Lorejo area.

"The distance to the top of the hill is 1.5 km, where you can find the Goa Tikus (Rat Cave)," said a farmer, pointing toward one of the hills with its peak barren of vegetation.

It was no easy task to locate the 70-meter-deep cave, requiring a hard trek through harsh terrain of steep and rocky gorges, rice fields and rivers. The cave, located about 30 kilometers from Blitar, is now overgrown with tall grass and rocks. The bamboo fencing which marks the site has also been damaged over time.

Blitar residents, especially those from Lorejo and Bakung village and surrounding areas, believe the cave was once a breeding place for rats. It was also used by the Indonesian military (TNI) and local residents to dump bodies of Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) members who had been murdered during a series of massacres in South Blitar in 1968.

The massacres were conducted following an alleged coup attempt on Sept. 30, 1965, dubbed the G30S/PKI movement by the incoming military-backed New Order regime led by Gen. Soeharto.

The arrests of top PKI figures in Jakarta and several major cities in Indonesia had forced members of the Central Committee (CC) of the PKI to retreat to remote areas in East Java, such as Tulungagung, Blitar, Malang and Kediri, where geographical conditions are harsh with hills pocketed with many caves.

Several prominent PKI leaders like Rewang, Mochammad Munir, Ruslan Wijaya Sastra, Tjugito and B. Oloan Hutapea were reported to have stayed in these towns at some time.

A former member of the 511 Blitar Intelligence Combat Battalion, Sergeant Major (retired) Roeslan, said that the arrival of the PKI leaders from Jakarta was initially warmly welcomed by residents in South Blitar.

"They thought that the arrival of the PKI leaders was a sign that there would be an improvement in South Blitar," Roeslan told The Jakarta Post. The moment they arrived in South Blitar, they convinced residents by building schools, such as the People's Resistance School (SPR) and the Rapid Course on People's Warfare, trained especially by PKI brass.

Their activities were eventually detected by commanders at the Brawijaya Military Command, who immediately authorized an intelligence operation. Sergeant Major Roeslan was one of the first members of the intelligence team deployed to the area.

"After becoming aware of communist activities in South Blitar, we immediately conducted a territorial operation called the Trisula Operation," he recalled. The commander of this operation was Colonel Witarmin.

During the two-month Trisula Operation, 21 PKI leaders were arrested, including Rewang, Mochammad Munir, Ruslan Wijaya Sastra (PKI Politburo chief), Tjugito (chairman of the Labor Union) and Pratomo (commander of the Armed Resistance), all captured alive. Two other PKI leaders, Oloan Hutapea (executive board of the CC of the PKI) and Surachman (assistant director of the Jakarta CC of the PKI) were killed in the operation. Some 33 others were killed; seven soldiers and 26 local citizens. Some 800 local PKI figures who had been indoctrinated to spread the ideology, were arrested.

Roeslan said that some 4,000 PKI sympathizers from Bakung district who had fled to the mountains were also caught up in the operation. "They were, however, released on parole," said the former Bakung village chief.

According to chairman of the Murder Victims Inquiry Foundation (YPKP) in East Java, Budi Raharjo, the extensive military operations supported by elements in the community to destroy the PKI has led to a prolonged trauma for area residents, especially for those whose relatives were accused of involvement, or those who had seen the massacres.

"Reports gathered by the YPKP shows that many local residents refuse to talk about the incidents to this day for fear of being accused of being involved," Budi told the Post.

Not to mention the ill-treatment they received, especially those in Bakung village, which did not end until the reformasi period, following the ousting of the autocrat Soeharto in 1998. Previously, they had to arrange travel permits every time they wanted to leave the town. They were required to attend courses on the "guidelines for carrying out the Pancasila basic principles" (known as P-4) once every fortnight.

During the New Order regime, only the Golkar Party had the strength and means to build its network in this village, and it was not surprising that the party garnered the most votes in every election, whereas in fact the area had been known as a stronghold for the Indonesian National Party (PNI) and the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI).

When the Post visited Bakung district, the suspicion on the faces of residents was palpable and their fear could be felt.

One of them, Supiah, who at the time of massacres was only 12- years-old, refused to relate much about the incidents. "Not me ... I don't know anything. Just ask those at the village administration office," she said briefly.

A similar response was also given by a villager in Lorejo, where Goa Tikus is situated. The resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said locals had witnessed atrocities being carried out by the military and others, and that the victims had been shoved into the cave.