International Media Highlights G30S/PKI: Suharto's Strategy, The Role Of The United States, And Anti-Communist Poison

Indonesia's second president Suharto (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - One of the historical events in Indonesia that will not stop talking about is the September 30th Movement or commonly known as the G30S/PKI. The G30S/PKI took place on September 30-October 1, 1965. At that time six high-ranking officers and one middle-ranking officer of the Army and several other people were killed.

Based on known historical records, prior to the G30S/PKI there were rumors about the existence of a group of generals or the Council of Generals who wanted to overthrow President Soekarno. It is known that the PKI received this information from colleagues in the military who were PKI sympathizers.

At that time there were military members who sympathized with the PKI. On the basis of this belief, military officers loyal to Sukarno moved quietly to prevent the coup. They then killed six high-ranking officers and one mid-level officer of the Army (AD) and several other people were killed.

After the G30S incident, President Soekarno was demanded to dissolve the PKI. Soekarno then ordered General Suharto to clean all elements of the government from the influence of the PKI. The PKI was later declared to be the initiator of the coup. Its figures were hunted down and arrested, including DN Aidit. Organizations deemed to be sympathizers of or linked to the PKI were also arrested.

These organizations include Lekra, CGMI, Pemuda Rakyat, Barisan Tani Indonesia, Indonesian Women's Movement and others. In addition, many community groups in various areas destroyed the PKI headquarters. All things that had elements of the PKI were annihilated and destroyed. Whatever it is, things that have elements of the PKI are certainly haram.

Political Prisoners due to the G30S incident in Cipinang Prison between 1965-1966 (Source: Co Rentmeester)

The G30S became a turning point in Indonesia's history because it was affected by the limitations of the Indonesian people in having an ideology. In addition, the G30S incident led to the killing and massacre of mankind in the name of eradicating communism. The PKI itself is the third largest communist party after China and the Soviet Union.

Many foreign media assumed that apart from Suharto, the United States (US) played an important role in the growing public hatred of the PKI which led to mass killings and even genocide. The Guardian reported that the US interfered in the extermination of elements of the Indonesian communist party.

The US pretext is to overthrow the communists in Indonesia. Within months, the TNI won, shifting Indonesia's political orientation to the US and opening up a huge market for US companies. US officials were overjoyed when martial law was imposed in Jakarta.

International media's perception of the G30S

As discussed earlier, after the G30S/PKI incident, people believed that the PKI was a lowly group. Talking about the PKI became taboo. If there are people who criticize the state of Indonesia even a little, they will be branded left and entered the PKI group. Not only original PKI members, descendants of PKI members were also ostracized by society. We can still find that attitude in this modern era.

However, there was one thing that was overlooked by the hatred of the PKI, namely the killing of completely innocent people. The killings for the extermination of the PKI happened so indiscriminately. Those who were considered by the PKI based on assumptions were also victims. Suharto's power played a strong role in the ingrained hatred of the Indonesian people for anything about the PKI.

Judging from its roots again, hatred is grown over the role of the United States (US). That is the perception of many international media. An article from NPR entitled Exposing Indonesia's Cold War Communist Purge by Anthony Kuhn, describes how Suharto continued to blame the deaths of six assassination officers on the PKI.

Military deployment in post-G30S Jakarta between 1965-1966 (Source: Co Rentmeester)

Suharto was said to suspect Sukarno of being involved in the murder of the six generals. This led to the intense hunting of communists in Indonesia at that time. According to documents from the US, obtained by an NPR reporter, the Indonesian authorities wanted the victim to admit to being a communist or part of the PKI in order to get help from the US government.

The US government openly supported Suharto. The US is worried that Indonesia, a country with large oil reserves, large population and strategic location, will fall into global communism. According to a Washington Post article titled 50 years ago today, American diplomats endorsed mass killings in Indonesia, Here's what that means for today by Kai Thaler, the US is considered to have helped create conditions for post-G30S/PKI mass killings.

The US side supported the mass killings, not detaining or condemning the perpetrators. The US is believed to be not alone. British and Australian officials are also said to have supported the killing. This was based on unclassified government documents, which at that time were obtained by many journalists.

The US has never formally apologized for its involvement in what the CIA called "one of the worst mass murders of the 20th century." The Washington Post also criticized the visit of Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) to the US at the end of October 2015. At that time, Jokowi met with President Barack Obama.

Both ignore the issue of mass killings after the G30S/PKI and both turn a blind eye to the deaths of innocent people. An international think tank, the Lowy Institute, has expressed its opinion through an article uploaded to The Interpreter entitled 'No thoughts about apologizing': Indonesia and the 196566 killings.

The Lowy Institute described the New Order, or Suharto, to be precise, as savage because it fostered strong hatred for the Indonesian people which led to mass killings. Suharto was seen as justifying mass killings, imprisonment and sexual violence against people who were considered part of or involved with the PKI.

Suharto (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

The narrative of the PKI's crimes is highly questionable because although the officers who participated in the G30S/PKI were related to the PKI leader, the movement was judged to be completely unrelated to the PKI as a whole. The Lowy Institute also criticized President Jokowi for watching the film Pengk betrayal G30S/PKI in September 2017.

The film is considered to focus on the assassination of generals and seems to justify the mass killings of 1965-1966. Instead, it promoted anti-communist sentiment. From the side of foreign academics, Geoffrey Robinson, professor of history from UCLA, assessed that the post-G30S mass killings received indirect support with the eternal silence of the two main international powers, namely the US and Britain.

Robinson attributes the 1965–66 mass killings to three main dynamics: certain historical conditions and antecedents related to Indonesian political life, the leadership of the army, and the influence of strong external states. He concentrates his comments on the last two dynamics, which he considers the most significant.

“What I argue,” he said, “is that the mass killings and mass detentions were not, as the army has long emphasized, the inevitable result of popular anger against the PKI, or a spontaneous expression of deep-rooted religious or cultural conflict,” he said. Robinson. "In fact it was encouraged, facilitated, and organized by the leadership of the Indonesian army itself."

Specifically, Robinson explained that prior to the G30S, the US, UK and commonwealth allies, including Canada, Australia and New Zealand, carried out a joint covert operation designed, which they claimed "to create the conditions for a military takeover."

Among other things, (it means) provoking a premature or fake left-wing coup that would provide an ideal pretext for military intervention in the name of saving the country. And that's exactly what happened," he explained.

Robinson reminded the reason the US was so involved in the post-G30S/PKI killings from the US which kept saying that the communists could take power. The US even intervened in the Vietnam War by supporting South Vietnam against communist North Vietnam. Therefore, Robinson believes that the US can also play a fundamental role in the post-G30S/PKI mass killings.

"That context dominates the domestic political scene in Indonesia, helping to create the highly polarized left-right divide that is one of the prerequisites for mass violence," he explained.

The foreign media and academics saw the G30S problem not only about the murder of six generals, but also after the incident, which made innocent people even die. It can also remind the people of Indonesia that it is possible that hatred that has lived for decades is the result of foreign interests.

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