RI communists still live in Russia
RI communists still live in Russia
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesians involved in the 1965 aborted coup attempt by the outlawed Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) who fled to the former Soviet Union are reportedly not doing well in Russia.
Indonesian Ambassador to Russia Rachmat Witoelar announced after meeting with President Soeharto yesterday that only a few of the old communists still live in Russia.
"I can count them on my right hand," he said. "Only a handful. Most of those who were really political have scattered and now reside in countries like Germany and the Netherlands."
Witoelar said that many communists from Indonesia sought sanctuary in the former Soviet Union from the mass reprisals following the aborted coup.
Because the current Russian administration is anti-communist, many of the Indonesian communists were expelled, Witoelar said. "President Boris Yeltsin is really against the communists, so there is really no space for them there," he said.
Witoelar, a former legislator and Golkar leader, said the exiles no longer have Indonesian or Russian passports.
"They have become stateless tramps. Once, they were paid by the Soviet Union government," he said. "Now, they are treated with suspicion."
On the night of Sept. 30, 1965, army and air force officers who supported the increasingly influential PKI tried to seize power. They abducted and killed six senior army officers.
Lt. Gen. Soeharto led troops to suppress the revolt, and to restore order. He later secured command of the army.
During the following months, civilian mobs killed thousands of communists. Some historians believe that 500,000 people were murdered, according to the World Book Encyclopedia.
The unsuccessful coup became known as G-30 S, or Gestapu, a short form for the "The September 30 Movement".
On March 11, 1966, President Sukarno delegated emergency power powers to Soeharto to restore order.
Soeharto then banned the PKI and reorganized the government. He became acting President in 1967 and was elected President in 1968. (swe)