Putting it in perspective

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.