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'State must admit involvement in 1965 bloodshed'
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Catherine Pandjaitan, the daughter of Donald Isaac Pandjaitan, one of six military generals murdered on Sept. 30,1965, speaks to journalists on the sidelines of a symposium on the 1965 communist purge in Jakarta on Monday. (thejakartapost.com/Anton Hermansyah)
S
idarto Danusubroto, a member of the Presidential Advisory Council (Wantimpress), has said the state must acknowledge its involvement in the 1965 tragedy that killed at least 500,000 people and improperly imprisoned millions of others.
“There were vertical conflicts in 1965 but we must admit state involvement in the tragedy,” said Sidarto, who acted as an advisor for the two-day national symposium on the 1965 tragedy that ended on Tuesday.
He expressed the hope that the symposium would lead to the rehabilitation of human rights for the victims and that victims would be free to speak openly about the tragedy.
Regarding the outcome of the symposium, Sidarto said a committee would form a recommendation and offer it to the President with the hope that the President would then issue a decree related to the issue.
“But it is not my job, it is the job of the committee to formulate the summary and bring it to the President. I am only here as the advisor,” he said.
The 1965 tragedy started with the kidnapping and murder of several military generals. The Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) was blamed for the killing. Revenge by the military caused the death of between 500,000 to 1 million alleged PKI supporters in many parts of the country. Millions of people were imprisoned without trial.
Meanwhile, Ilham Aidit, the son of Indonesia Communist Party (PKI) leader D.N. Aidit, said this symposium was the most complete discussion yet on the tragedy.
“Rehabilitation is what the victims want. The state has to admit there were human rights violations. We must be honest about our history,” he said.
Responding to Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan’s statement that the state would not apologize for the tragedy, Ilham said, as a victim, he would apologize instead.
“An apology from the state is what the victims want, but since Luhut already stated that the state would not offer apology, then we, as the victims, will apologize to every party involved,” Ilham said.
Meanwhile, psychologist Nanti Nurrachman Sutojo, who is a daughter of the kidnapped and murdered Gen. Sutoyo Siswomiharjo, said psychological pressures were felt by both sides.
“The trauma is the same on both sides. It is not an easy thing because Indonesia is a collectivist society. There is a burden of carrying the family name,” she told thejakartapost.com, adding that she needed 22 years to come out from depression. (bbn)
