M

ost people, when they think of the 1965 tragedy involving the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), widely known as G30S or September 30 Movement, think of the Lubang Buaya area in East Jakarta where the bodies of six military generals and one lieutenant were dumped. However, many other places witnessed important moments in one of the darkest eras in Indonesia'€™s history. Here, historian Asvi Warman Adam explains some of them.

Haryati'€™s house

Asvi says that on the morning of Oct. 1, Sukarno, who was traveling with his guards to the Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta, decided to change direction. They headed west to Slipi in West Jakarta after learning that a large number of unidentified soldiers were swarming the palace.

The entourage eventually went to the house of Haryati, Sukarno'€™s sixth wife.

No trace of the house can be found now as the site, located in the Taman Anggrek area of West Jakarta, has been turned into offices and commercial centers.

Satria Mandala Museum

Formerly known as Wisma Yaso, the house of first president Sukarno'€™s fifth wife Ratna Sari Dewi is located on Jl. Gatot Subroto in South Jakarta. The house is better known as the residence where Sukarno spent the last days of his house arrest before he
died in 1970.

However, historian Asvi says the house was also the place where Sukarno slept on Sept. 30, 1965, the night of the suspected attempted coup by the PKI.

After the house was converted into a military museum, no trace of Sukarno was left.

The guest room, where the body of the late Sukarno was laid out before being buried in Blitar, East Java, now houses military banners and flags, while his bedroom is dedicated to artefacts related to the Soldier'€™s Oath.

The houses of the generals

The so-called Sept. 30 Movement involved the kidnapping and killing of six generals and one lieutenant.

They were Lt. Gen. Ahmad Yani, Maj. Gen. R. Suprapto, Maj. Gen. Siswondo Parman, Maj. Gen. Mas Tirtodarmo Harjono, Brig. Gen. Soetojo Siswomihardjo, Brig. Gen. Donald Isaacus Pandjaitan and First Lt. Pierre Andreas Tendean. Also slain was five-year-old Ade Irma Surjani Nasution, the youngest daughter of Gen. Ahmad Haris Nasution, who escaped an attempt to kidnap him.

The generals all lived in elite housing complexes in Menteng, Central Jakarta, apart from Pandjaitan, who lived in Kebayoran Baru in South Jakarta.

The government converted the houses of Yani and Nasution into museums commemorating the events. Sukarno inaugurated the house of Yani as a museum in 1966 while the house of Nasution was converted into a museum by President Susilo Bambang Yudho-yono in 2008.

Military and intelligent camps

Asvi says that after that fateful night, the military actively hunted the members and affiliates of the PKI, who were blamed for the murders.

Sites used to detain and torture suspects included a house on Jl. Gunung Sahari in Central Jakarta. The house is often called rumah tahanan kalong (the bat detention house). The operation to crush the PKI and its affiliates became known as the kalong (bat) operation.

The death toll of communists and suspected communists in the following months reached chilling heights: 500,000 by the most conservative estimate, but perhaps as many as 2 million.

Halim Perdanakusuma Airport

From Haryati'€™s house, Sukarno went to Halim Perdanakusuma airport in East Jakarta. He was received at the Air Force Command Headquarters. The president then rested in one of the soldiers'€™ houses.

'€œA couple of years later, the owner of the house was accused of being involved in the attempted coup and arrested,'€ Asvi says.

He explains that many historians and experts argue that it was not only PKI members who were involved in the coup. '€œMany believe that elements of the military and foreign agents were also involved,'€ he says.

The historian says, therefore, that it is important to have a wider perspective in interpreting the events of September 30 , 1965. '€” JP