Putting it in perspective

Although the remark may seem a bit unusual, given the timing and the nature of the occasion, there can be no doubt that President Soeharto's most recent explanation of certain relevant details concerning the events of September and October 1965 has come at a most opportune moment. For the benefit of those of our readers who are unacquainted with Indonesia's most recent history, it may be useful at this point to recall that during the early morning hours of Oct. 1, 1965, this country was shaken by an attempted coup d'etat, plotted and executed by the now disbanded Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

The putsch was crushed, but in its wake an uncounted number of Indonesians were killed, mostly by sympathizers of the opposing sides. Given the circumstances which prevailed at that time, it is not surprising that recurring allegations have since been made by scholars and observers of various leanings of the involvement of, or the role, which the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was supposed to have played in the crushing of the coup.

Most recently, assertions of such CIA involvement have come from two totally unrelated sources: a former Indonesian diplomat and politician Manai Sophiaan on one side, and the CIA itself on the other, as was headlined on our front page yesterday.

Given all this, it is easy enough to understand why President Soeharto has found it necessary to refute the allegations. The CIA had nothing to do with the campaign to crush the coup and the Communist Party in 1965, Soeharto said. The operation to eradicate the PKI was accomplished by Indonesians alone and there was "not a grain of assistance" from the CIA.

In all truthfulness we have no reason to doubt President Soeharto's words, which sources in Washington seem to affirm. Here in Indonesia it has long been an accepted fact that the crushing of the 1965 was accomplished by the Indonesians on their own, without any outside help -- an phenomenal achievement, as we believe quite a number of international observers will agree.

If there is anything about Soeharto's statement that deserves our observance, then, it may be the fact that he chose a meeting with leaders of the Muhammadiyah organization on Tuesday in which to make his rebuttal. After all, the Muhammadiyah is an Islamic organization committed to social work and its leaders had come to report matters relevant to their organization to the President.

Of course, it could be that the President simply wanted to put the facts straight right away in whatever forum was available. Most probably, he could have been concerned that the historical facts surrounding the event might eventually become blurred to the younger generation of Indonesians, or that the younger people might become disinterested.

No doubt the White Book which the government recently released provides a valuable source of reference for those who want to delve into the facts surrounding the 1965 tragedy. The book, however, confines itself to exposing only those facts and events that concern the coup itself. By doing so it limits its usefulness to those who want to look at the event in a wider context. Younger Indonesians, for example, might well ask themselves, why this sudden uproar about CIA involvement?

The time may have come that we must start to seriously think about publishing a book that sets the dramatic events of September and October 1965 in a wider perspective. To be worth the effort, of course, such a book would have to be well documented and historically straightforward.

To those of us who belong to the older generation, it may be a well known fact that at the time the 1965 coup was launched in Indonesia the Cold War was raging across the globe, the domino theory was in vogue and the United States was committed to a policy of containment against communism internationally. It seems the time has come that we share that knowledge with our children and grandchildren in order that they may get a better grasp of history.