Communist Party of Indonesia - Mass Killings and The End of The PKI

Mass Killings and The End of The PKI

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See also: Indonesian killings of 1965–1966 and Transition to the New Order

Sukarno's balancing act between the PKI, the military, nationalist factions, and Islamic groups was threatened by the PKI's rise. The growing influence of the PKI concerned the United States and other anti-communist western powers. The political and economic situation had become more volatile; annual inflation reached over 600 per cent and living conditions for Indonesians worsened.

In December 1964 Chaerul Saleh of the Murba Party (formed by former PKI leader Tan Malaka) claimed that PKI was preparing a coup. The PKI demanded a ban on the Murba Party, which was enforced by Sukarno in early 1965. In the context of Konfrontasi with Malaysia, the PKI called for 'arming the people'. Large sectors of the army were opposed to this. Sukarno remained officially non-committal. In July around 2000 PKI members started military training near Halim Air Force Base. Notably the concept of 'arming the people' had won support among the Air Force and the Navy. On 8 September PKI demonstrators initiated a two-day siege of the US Consulate in Surabaya. On 14 September Aidit addressed a PKI rally, urging members to be vigilant of things to come. On 30 September Pemuda Rakyat and Gerwani, both PKI-associated organizations, held a mass rally in Jakarta against the inflation crisis.

On the night of 30 September and 1 October 1965, six of Indonesia's top army generals were killed and their bodies thrown down a well. The generals' killers announced the following morning that the new Revolutionary Council had seized power, calling themselves the "30 September Movement" ("G30S"). With much of the army's top leadership either dead or missing, General Suharto took control of the army and put down the abortive coup by 2 October. The army quickly blamed the coup attempt on the PKI and instigated an Indonesia-wide anti-Communist propaganda campaign. Evidence linking the PKI to the generals' assassinations is inconclusive, leading to speculation that their involvement was very limited, or that Suharto organised the events, in whole or part, and scapegoated the communists. In the ensuing violent anti-communist purge, an estimated 500,000 communists (real and suspected) were killed, and the PKI effectively eliminated (see Indonesian killings of 1965–66). General Suharto outmaneuvered Sukarno politically and was appointed president in 1968, consolidating his influence over the military and government.

On 2 October the Halim base was "captured" by the army. The Harian Rakyat issue carried an article in support of the G30S coup, but speculation later arose concerning whether it actually represented the opinions of PKI. Otherwise the official line of PKI at the time was that the G30S was an internal affair within the armed forces. On 6 October the Sukarno's cabinet held its first meeting since 30 September. PKI ministers attend. A resolution denouncing G30S was passed. Njoto was arrested directly after the meeting.

A massive manifestation was held in Jakarta two days later, demanding a ban on the PKI. The main office of PKI was burned down. On 13 October the Islamic organization Ansor held anti-PKI rallies across Java. On 18 October around a hundred PKI were killed by Ansor. The systematic extermination of the party had begun.

Between 300,000 and one million Indonesians were killed in the mass killings that followed. The victims included non-Communists who were slain because of mistaken identity or "guilt by association." However, the lack of information makes it impossible to pinpoint an exact figure of casualties. Many scholars today suggest that the figure is between 200,000 and 500,000. A CIA study of the events in Indonesia assessed that "In terms of the numbers killed the anti-PKI massacres in Indonesia rank as one of the worst mass murders of the 20th century...".

Time presented the following account on 17 December 1966 :

Communists, red sympathizers and their families are being massacred by the thousands. Backlands army units are reported to have executed thousands of communists after interrogation in remote jails. Armed with wide-bladed knives called parangs, Moslem bands crept at night into the homes of communists, killing entire families and burying their bodies in shallow graves. The murder campaign became so brazen in parts of rural East Java, that Moslem bands placed the heads of victims on poles and paraded them through villages. The killings have been on such a scale that the disposal of the corpses has created a serious sanitation problem in East Java and Northern Sumatra where the humid air bears the reek of decaying flesh. Travelers from those areas tell of small rivers and streams that have been literally clogged with bodies.

Although the motives for the killings seemed political, some scholars argue that the events were caused by a state of panic and political uncertainty. Part of the anti-Communist force that was responsible for the massacres were made up of members of the criminal underworld, given permission to engage in senseless acts of violence. Other motives have been explored, such as running amok or an allusion to Javanese puppet-play (wayang).

Amongst the worst affected areas was the island of Bali, where PKI had grown rapidly prior to the crackdown. On 11 November clashes erupted between the PKI and PNI, ending in massacres of PKI accused members and sympathizers. Whereas much of the anti-PKI pogroms in the rest of the country were carried out by Islamic political organizations, the killings in Bali were done in the name of Hinduism. Bali stood out as the only place in the country where local soldiers in some way intervened to lessen the slaughter.

On 22 November, Aidit was captured and killed.

In December the military proclaimed that Aceh had been cleared of communists. Simultaneously, Special Military Courts were set up to try jailed PKI members. On 12 March, the party was formally banned by Suharto, and the pro-PKI trade union SOBSI was banned in April.

Some of these tumultuous events were fictionalized in the popular novel and film The Year of Living Dangerously (1982).