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Conference on 1965 tragedy overshadowed by FPI threat
Many believe that the aborted communist coup of 1965 was the result of a global conflict between world superpowers
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any believe that the aborted communist coup of 1965 was the result of a global conflict between world superpowers. What is less understood is the impact of the coup and the events that succeeded it on world politics.
In an attempt to shed light on what many consider the country’s darkest hour, the German Cultural Center Goethe Institut is currently holding a conference on the subject.
“The title of our conference is ‘Indonesia and the World in 1965’. So, we will not only talk about what really happened back then but its impact on the world,” Goethe programming division head Diniah Latuconsina said.
In its official statement, Goethe Institut said that the motive behind the conference was to get a new perspective on what really happened when an aborted coup blamed on the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) led to the murder of hundreds of thousands people.
In the four-day conference between Jan. 18 and Jan. 21, experts including John Roosa, author of the controversial book Pretext for Mass Murder, will speak in a session titled “Indonesia in the Cold War Game: The Rise of Soeharto and the involvement of the world leaders” on Jan. 21.
Given the incendiary topics discussed in the conference, Goethe Institut has requested the police guard against threats from radical groups, including the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), which has threatened to close down the conference.
Goethe Institut cultural officer Lely Cabe said precautionary measures had been taken to protect the conference from the FPI. “The police are ready and prepared for any possibilities,” said Lely.
On Tuesday, rumors abounded that FPI members would mob the Goethe Haus building. The threat materialized when dozens of people who called themselves members of the Youth Islamic Movement (GPI) staged a rally in front of the building, calling for the conference to be called off.
Protesters carried banner denouncing the defunct PKI.
The FPI denied that GPI was part of its organization. “I don’t know about that group. Our members are now busy preparing for events to celebrate the birth of Prophet Muhammad,” FPI Jakarta head Salim Alatas said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.
— JP/Hans David Tampubolon
