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View all search results'Red terror' continues to haunt Indonesia
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The specter of communism still haunts Indonesia, despite the fact that the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) has been banned for almost 60 years now. (Shutterstock/File)
S
ix decades after the 1965 purge, the phantom of communism still haunts the nation, with the government and the police continuing to invoke its memory to instill fear.
On Tuesday, Indonesia marked another year since the 1965-1966 massacre, in which at least 500,000 people were killed in a state-sponsored purge of suspected communists following the assassination of six military generals in an alleged coup attempt that was blamed on the now-defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).
Survivors and descendants of those massacred in the purge have expressed concerns over the continued demonization of communism in the nation’s public discourse, with the government continuing to fuel fear and perpetuate a false narrative about the PKI.
“Communism has long been depicted for decades as a ‘ghost’ in Indonesia, ever-present, always waiting to bring destruction,” said Ilham Aidit, the son of DN Aidit, the leader of the PKI, who was executed following the failed coup attempt in 1965.
“Thus, it has become a convenient target whenever unrest occurs, with authorities often invoking it to deflect public anger,” Ilham told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
“Although this narrative is very outdated, some still believe it. And this is very uncomfortable for the descendants of the victims,” Ilham added, saying that the spread of these false stories continues to hurt the families of those who were affected.
This was evidenced in the series of crackdowns on perceived expressions of communist symbolism, including the confiscation of allegedly communist books belonging to protesters during August’s nationwide demonstrations, which were fueled by public frustration over economic inequality and political elites’ insensitivity. The police confiscated various books in Kediri, East Java, and Bandung, West Java.
