UCA News
Contribute

Indonesians seek healing from country's collective sins

Nation struggles with how to help victims of 1965-66 anti-communist purge
Indonesians seek healing from country's collective sins

Fake skeletons symbolizing victims of the 1965-66 anti-communist purge are placed on the ground during an Oct. 1 protest in front of Indonesia's presidential palace in Jakarta. (Photo by Ryan Dagur)

Published: October 05, 2015 07:39 AM GMT
Updated: May 21, 2021 04:18 AM GMT

Kletus Karma Tata wasn't yet born when his father Paulus Parus was rounded up in East Nusa Tenggara province during Indonesia's infamous 1965-1966 communist purge.

For three months his father was beaten and tortured by soldiers. The man survived, but 500,000 other Indonesians were killed in the purge while thousands of others were exiled into forced labor.

Parus died in 2008, but the stigma of the communist label continues to impact the life of Tata, a Catholic layman.

"I still can feel it. Since I was a child, I've heard people around me say that I'm the son of a party member. Many people have distanced themselves from me. I've also faced difficulties when dealing with the government," said Tata, 48.

He said his father continually told him he had nothing to do with communism or supported the party that was blamed for the 1965 assassinations of six army generals, which spurred the purge. His father was a victim, he said.

"He didn't go to school. He couldn't resist when he was suddenly arrested by soldiers. He kept asking himself: 'Why am I being held?'" Tata said.

 

Enemy of the state

Haris Azhar, coordinator of the Jakarta-based Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence, noted that former president, Suharto, manipulated the population into believing the victims of the purge were "enemies of the state."

State-run television broadcast programs on the army generals' killings every year from 1984 to 1998, force-feeding Indonesian citizens negative imagery of those deemed to be communists. There was little sympathy for victims of the purge, Azhar said.

"No one questioned president Suharto's 32-year-long regime," he added.

Following Suharto's fall in 1998, however, Indonesians began to talk more freely about the country's recent dark history.

"Irregularities in the regime's story began to surface," Azhar said. Victims and their families began to seek justice.

 

Weekly protest

On Jan. 18, 2007, several victims and their families began holding silent protests in front of the presidential palace in Jakarta every Thursday.

A year later, the National Commission on Human Rights formed an ad hoc team to investigate human rights violations during the anti-communist purge. This team questioned 349 witnesses and victims between June 2008 and April 2012.

Killings, slavery and torture were uncoverd in the investigation, which the commission categorized as gross human rights violations. The probe results were then submitted to the Attorney-General's Office.

Nevertheless, no significant progress has been made in bringing those responsible to justice or compensating victims.

Not long after taking office in October 2014, President Joko Widodo promised to prioritize human rights.

In May, the government announced a nonjudicial mechanism to resolve past human rights violations, including the communist purge.

Nur Kholis, the commission's chairman, said the state should deliver an apology to victims and their families.

"President Widodo has expressed regret over the ideological conflict in the past. That's not the point, though. The point is that the political process led to misery for this nation and produced so many victims," he said.

Bonar Tigor Naipospos, deputy chairman of the Jakarta-based Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace, said an apology would show the government's seriousness and commitment to restoring the rights and dignity of victims.

"It's time for the state to stop refusing to accept and to recognize the 1965 killings of its own citizens," he said. The case can be resolved only if there is an effort to reveal the truth, followed by reconciliation and an apology, he added.

 

Purification

Jesuit Father Franz Magnis-Suseno from the Jakarta-based Driyarkara School of Philosophy said Indonesia must recognize "the extraordinary cruelty" of the anti-communist purge.

"The nation cannot run away from history forever. We cannot gain a positive synergy to face the future filled with challenges if we don't have the courage to deal with the past," he said.

He also questioned why the killings continued even after the Communist Party was already neutralized. Revealing the truth is an effort to purify the country of its collective sins, he said.

"It's not to blame each other but to purify our hearts," he said.

 

International support

London-based Amnesty International said in a Sept. 30 statement that Indonesian authorities have abandoned the victims and families of one of the worst mass killings in modern times.

"Five decades is far too long to wait for justice for one of the worst mass killings of our era. Across Indonesia, victims of the 1965 and 1966 events and their family members have been left to fend for themselves, while those suspected of criminal responsibility walk free," said Papang Hidayat, an Indonesian researcher at the London-based human rights group.

President Widodo has a golden opportunity to use his mandate to ensure that the past is no longer forgotten in Indonesia, Amnesty said. "This is a country that is quickly emerging as a regional leader — it must take this position seriously and set an example when it comes to justice, truth and reparations," he said.

Bedjo Untung, (right), a victim of Indonesia's 1965-66 anti-communist purge, stages a silent protest with other victims and their families on Oct. 1 — 50 years after the tragedy — in front of the presidential palace in Jakarta.

 

Bedjo Untung, who was imprisoned for 10 years during the purge, realizes that bringing the perpetrators to justice may no longer be a reasonable goal.

"If it's hard to do because of pressures from other parties, an apology is enough," he said.

"I just hope that this case will be addressed as many victims, witnesses and their families have already died," he said.      

Also hoping for an apology is Tukiman, 79, who was arrested in Blitar, East Java province.

"I'm old already. I still hope for an apology," he said.

For Abdullah Malik, a 71-year-old victim who was arrested together with Tata's father, the state's recognition of the tragedy would be important.

"Although it's been 50 years, I still feel the trauma," he said, adding that he has kept a letter of his release out of fears of being re-arrested.

"I'm sure those who were imprisoned still feel the trauma. The only way to get rid of it is, of course, that the state recognizes that many innocent people were victims of the tragedy," he said.

If the government fails to do so, the "ordinary citizens will continue to carry this burden," he said.

Help UCA News to be independent
Dear reader,
Lent is the season during which catechumens make their final preparations to be welcomed into the Church.
Each year during Lent, UCA News presents the stories of people who will join the Church in proclaiming that Jesus Christ is their Lord. The stories of how women and men who will be baptized came to believe in Christ are inspirations for all of us as we prepare to celebrate the Church's chief feast.
Help us with your donations to bring such stories of faith that make a difference in the Church and society.
A small contribution of US$5 will support us continue our mission…
William J. Grimm
Publisher
UCA News
Asian Bishops
Latest News
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia