A Look at Indonesia's

TOLD HISTOR
UN Y
 RESENTERS
P

Abner Johan
 OUTLINES

Bersiap Period 1965-1966 Santa Cruz

Anti-Communist Cemetery
Purge Incident
 Refers to the time in our history
immediately following the end of
World War II, when we declared
independence from the
Netherlands on August 17, 1945.
The violence during the Bersiap
period was particularly targeted at
the Dutch authorities and people of
Dutch descent, who were seen as
oppressors by many Indonesians.
BERSIAP PERIOD The term "Bersiap" means "be
prepared" in Indonesian, and was
originally used as a slogan by
Indonesian youth groups in the early
1940s.
The Bersiap period lasted from
around August 1945 to mid-1946,
and resulted in thousands of deaths
and widespread destruction. The
violence eventually subsided as the
Dutch regained control.
Document obtained from the folder of the
late Jack Boer, a former KNIL captain.
source: spotify
 BERSIAP PERIOD
The total death toll during
the Bersiap period varies
from 3,500 to 30,000. But
the precise number remains
inconclusive, with NIOD
concluded a Dutch casualty
number of approximately
5,500 with possible higher
numbers but not above
10,000.
ANTI-COMUNIST
PURGE
 1965-1966
Between October 1965 - March 1966,
members and supporters of Indonesia
Comunist Party (PKI) were hunted down
and murdered.
The anti-comunist violence
brought by Soeharto to power
in 1967, replace the country's
founding president Soekarno.
Historian Robert Cribb estimates
200,000 to 800,000 people of
Indonesia Communist Party (PKI)
were killed.
This tragedy changed Indonesia
from a fiercely independent
Asian nation into a pro-Western
country.
Who Car ried
Out?
 ho Carried Out
W ?
The Army, with the help of civilian Militias trained in Central and
militias mostly from Islamic groups East Java with directive to
such as the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) eradicate the PKI "down to its
and Muhammadiyah. roots".

Before it happened, Muslim

clerics and the PKI were
already caught in conflict.
Before October 1965, NU
created a youth militia called
Banser (an acronym for multi-
purpose front).
A youth NU organization when
gathering of Syarikat, working
on truth and reconciliation for
1965 crimes, reveals the
people from NU received a list
of their name to be killed by
PKI and vice versa.
The image of anti-communist
purge in 1965-1966
 hat Tr ig ge red t h
W a ll of e
o w n f P KI?
D
 hat Tr ig ge red t h
W a ll of e
o w n f P KI?
Sukarno and the army D
One of the significant powers after
Placed 4th out of 172 political
parties in first national election
1955.

Army and PKI concerned about

Soekarno's health
Rumors about a “Generals’ Council”, a
group of generals meeting in secret
that were planning to stage a coup
against Sukarno on October 5, 1965.
Suspicions about army’s disloyalty
grew after a letter allegedly written
by British ambassador Andrew Gilchrist
surfaced in May 1965.
Int erna tio na l
C om m u n ity 's
Role?
 nal Communit
atio y's
rn Ro
te le?
In
In 1965, Western countries saw
Declassified US files show that US
communist as their enemy.
supported the anti-communist
operation in Indonesia.
Declassified from UK showed
that UK and Australia carried
out covert operations spread UK had intelligence office in
false. Singapore that they use to
launch an anti-communism
campaign
H o w it C h a ng e
In do n esia an d
Th e W o rld ?
 it C han ge In d on
ow esia
H n d Th e W o rld ?
a Indonesia's intellectual culture
Indonesia from active player in the non- became uniform. During the era of
aligned movement become to very pro- Sukarno’s leadership there were
Western many public debates between left-
and right-wing intellectuals. In
contrast, Suharto did not allow
criticism and suppressed any dissent.
This benefited capitalist
countries such as US and
Japan.
SA NT A C RU Z
C EM ETE R Y
IN CID EN T
BACKGROUND
Santa Cruz is a cemetery located in
Dili, the capital city of East Timor.

On November 12, 1991, a large

group of Timorese people, including
students, laborers, and pro-
independence activists, gathered at
the Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili, East
Timor to attend the funeral of a
young man who had been killed by
Indonesian security forces.
 SANTA CRUZ CEMETERY
Indonesian troops dressed in brown
come to the cemetery, armed with
M16 Rifles supplied by the United
States of America
Foreign journalists and witnesses,
including American journalist Amy
Goodman and activist Allan Nairn,
were present at the scene and
documented the massacre.

As the crowd dispersed, Indonesian

Indonesian troops opened fire on the
troops chased after them, shooting
crowd of protesters with automatic
indiscriminately and beating those
weapons, killing and injuring many.
who had fallen to the ground.

The exact number of casualties in the Santa Cruz

massacre is disputed, but it is estimated that at
least 250 people were killed and hundreds others
were injured
 OUTCOMES

The Santa Cruz Cemetery massacre gained international

attention and condemnation, leading to increased
scrutiny of Indonesia's human rights abuses in East Timor.

Every 12 November, Timor-Leste (East Timor), observes

National Youth Day to honour the memory of the brave
youth who demonstrated in Dili in favour of independence
on that day in 1991, leading to the infamous Santa Cruz
Massacre.
Why?
Good or bad, history is
history. It may not define
who we are, but it should
inspire us to be better
 JAS MERAH

Jangan sekali-sekali meninggalkan sejarah

 The End, and

THANK YOU!