The institutionalization of state violence after 1965
The institutionalization of state violence after 1965
Asvi Warman Adam, Jakarta
Prof. Henk Schulte Nordholt maintains that in Indonesia's
history, the intensity of violence increases during the
transition of power, the reinforcement of power, and also amid
economic woes. This is exactly what happened throughout the
period of the New Order.
The root of violence can be traced to the colonial era. While
history textbooks in Indonesia describe the early 20th century as
the period of implementation of the Dutch ethical policy in this
archipelago, at the same time successive military expeditions
were in fact dispatched to Aceh, Lombok, Central and South
Sumatra, Borneo, Aceh, Central and South Sulawesi, Seram, Flores,
Timor, Bali and again Aceh. Some 75,000 people or 15 percent of
the Acehnese population were killed by Dutch colonial troops.
Following Indonesia's independence, various rebellions broke
out in the country with a high death toll, though they were
eventually stamped out. This was not the case with the Sept. 30,
1965 movement (G30S) coup attempt, which set off the longest
conflict after independence. That year seems unending. Despite
the passage of 40 years, the impact of this incident lingers,
leaving deep and lasting repercussions up to the present.
Communists and Communism became the enemy constantly recycled
by the New Order or especially the New Order military. This
country turned into the most anti-Communist nation that probably
ever existed. The Nazis exterminated millions of Jewish people in
gas chambers at one juncture in history. But in Indonesia the
torture inflicted on Communists or those accused of being ones
lasted for decades, making them suffer physical pain followed by
mental torment.
I share the view of Australian historian Robert Cribb that we
could not have guaranteed the absence of brutality if the
Communists had risen to power. But I wish to point out that the
slaughter of 500,000 people in 1965 was the gravest tragedy of
humanity in Indonesia's history.
The 1965 incident also served as a watershed, marking major
changes in economic, political and cultural areas. The free-and-
active, non-aligned foreign policy became pro-American and pro-
western. The self-supporting economy shifted to a market economy
relying on capital and external loans. The entire cultural
potential was mustered to ensure successful development, with no
more polemics or criticism. Unlike the changes occurring in other
periods, in 1965 they were so simultaneous that their
reverberations were more alarming.
Below is the process and modes of institutionalization of
state violence during the New Order era.
The institute formed after the outbreak of G30S had unlimited
power. Kopkamtib (Operational Command for the Restoration of
Security and Order) seized and interrogated people considered
dangerous to the government. It also instructed the attorney
general to banish B-category political detainees to Buru Island
(1969-1979).
These detainees' involvement in G30S was suspected but there
was not sufficient evidence to bring them to court. Kopkamtib
decided whether somebody was "environmentally clean" (with no
family members directly or indirectly implicated in G30S) through
special screening in the selection of civil servants and armed
forces candidates, or periodical screening in the framework of
rank/office promotion of servicemen and civil servants.
Under Admiral Sudomo, the agency prohibiting the public from
undertaking any activity or publishing anything seen by the
government as a potential source of conflict relating to the key
areas of ethnicity, religion, race and societal relations, a
concept known as SARA. At the end of the New Order, this body
changed into the Coordinating Agency to Support the Strengthening
of National Stability (Bakorstranas), which was dissolved by then
president Abdurrahman Wahid.
The 1965 incident also led to a diplomatic freeze with the
People's Republic of China. Everything suggestive of China was
suspect and banned. Parcels of magazines with Chinese characters
were examined by immigration personnel; religious and socio-
cultural activities were considerable restricted if not
prohibited. In the various social disturbances arising under the
New Order regime, the Chinese often became a target of mass fury.
The policy of giving Indonesian names to or renaming citizens
of Chinese descent is worth noting. It was a form of oppression
that considerably affected individuals in a community. A name has
its meaning and members of society treat each other also
according to their names as they indicate the status and position
of families.
In 1959 the law of land reform was enforced, which as a whole
was not so radical. But it also contained provisions on
production sharing between farm workers and owners, which was
very favorable to laborers and could overturn the rural social
order. While earlier land owners got 60 percent and laborers 40
percent of harvests, the law ruled otherwise.
Starting from 1962/63, the Indonesian Farmers Union and the
Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) launched "unilateral actions"
against village evils, including landlords, rural authorities and
loan sharks. Protests, land takeovers and village-head overthrows
prevailed. Insurgencies in Java's villages were far more
widespread and intense because poor masses were involved. Some of
their victims were devout Muslims and clerics. The confused and
uncontrolled situation prompted people to arm or protect
themselves. The G30S coup attempt took place against this
backdrop.
In the New Order era, the government supported by the security
apparatus could easily seize people's land for and in the name of
development.
The 1965 conflict was purposely maintained by the New Order
regime to perpetuate its power. One of the characteristics of the
1965 incident was the utilization of history to maintain
conflicts.
The New Order's orchestration of history took different forms,
such as:
The Indonesian National History (SNI) school textbooks clearly
mentioned Sukarno's involvement in the Sept. 30 coup attempt.
Labor Day was annulled and the June 1 Pancasila (state
philosophy) anniversary was replaced by the Oct. 1 Pancasila
Sanctity Day, which had nothing to do with Pancasila. The killing
of six generals was commemorated by ignoring the massacre of
500,000 people that happened thereafter.
Until now, none of Soeharto's successors, including Sukarno's
own daughter, Megawati Soekarnoputri, have been able or willing
to find the truth behind the Sept. 30 coup attempt. It will
remain one of the darkest chapters in the nation's history.
The writer is research professor at the Indonesian Institute
of Sciences (LIPI), Jakarta.