Pretext for mass murder: the September 30th Movement and Suharto's coup d'état in Indonesia

344 Pages·2006·1.974 MB·English

by  American Council of Learned Societies., Gerakan Tigapuluh September., Partai Komunis Indonesia., Roosa, John

Pretext for Mass Murder
new perspectives in
southeast asian studies
Series Editors
Alfred W. McCoy
Kris Olds (Managing Editor)
R. Anderson Sutton
Thongchai Winichakul
Associate Editors
Warwick H. Anderson
Katherine Bowie
Ian Coxhead
Michael Cullinane
Paul D. Hutchcroft
Courtney Johnson
Pretext for
Mass Murder
The September 30th Movement
and Suharto’s Coup d’État
in Indonesia
t
John Roosa
the university of wisconsin press
This book was published with the support of
the Center for Southeast Asian Studies and
the Anonymous Fund for the Humanities of
the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
The University of Wisconsin Press
1930 Monroe Street
Madison, Wisconsin 53711
www.wisc.edu/wisconsinpress/
3 Henrietta Street
London WC2E 8LU, England
Copyright © 2006
The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
All rights reserved
1 3 5 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Roosa, John.
Pretext for mass murder : the September 30th Movement
and Suharto’s Coup d’état in Indonesia / John Roosa.
p. cm.—(New perspectives in Southeast Asian studies)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-299-22030-3 (cloth: alk. paper)
ISBN 0-299-22034-6 (pbk.: alk. paper)
1. Gerakan Tigapuluh September.
2. Indonesia—History—Coup d’état, 1965.
3. Partai Komunis Indonesia.
4. Indonesia—Politics and government—1950–1966.
I. Title. II. Title: September 30th Movement
and Suharto’s Coup d’état in Indonesia. III. Series.
DS644.32.R66 2006
959.803´6—dc22 2006010196
Tomy parents

Table of Contents
List ofIllustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 3
1 The Incoherence of the Facts 34
2 Interpretations of the Movement 61
3 The Supardjo Document 82
4 Sjam and the Special Bureau 117
5 Aidit, the PKI, and the Movement 139
6 Suharto, the Indonesian Army, and the United States 176
7 Assembling a New Narrative 202
Appendixes
1 Some Factors That Influenced the Defeat of
“the September 30th Movement” as Viewed from
a Military Perspective (1966), by Brigadier General
Supardjo 227
2 The Testimony of Sjam (1967) 245
Notes 261
Bibliography 305
Index 319
vii

List of Illustrations
Maps
1 Jakarta, 1965 2
2 Merdeka Square 36
3 Halim Air Force Base and Lubang Buaya 43
Photographs and Cartoons
1 Sacred Pancasila Monument 8
2 Detail of Sacred Pancasila Monument bas-relief 9
3 Museum of PKI Treason 11
4 Detail of Sacred Pancasila Monument bas-relief 23
5 Supardjo and Ibu Supardjo, ca. 1962 87
6 Cartoon commemorating the twentieth anniversary of
the nation 169
7 Cartoon supporting the September 30th Movement 171
8 Cartoon: “This week’s film” 172
9 Anti-PKI cartoon 199
Tables and Figures
1 Army General Staff 37
2 Military and Civilian Personnel in the September 30th
Movement 46
3 Organizational Structure of the PKI 147
ix