Armando Siahaan

A production still from the documentary “40 Years of Silence: An Indonesian Tragedy.” (Photo: Courtesy of Elemental Productions)

A Hidden Past Revealed: One Viewer’s Personal Reflection on Cutting Through the Silence of 40 Years

Growing up under the rule of President Suharto, I was raised to believe that Communists were sadistic and evil. Through formal education, monuments and a film that was shown on television every year, I was taught that on the night of Sept. 30, 1965, Communist members gouged out the eyes and castrated six high-ranking military officers.

Through Lemelson’s documentary, and other revelations I heard at a recent history conference in Singapore, I learned that the New Order regime had distorted the events of the time. To start with, historians contend, based on formal autopsies, none of the six was mutilated.

More important, “40 Years of Silence” showed me how barbaric the Indonesian Armed Forces were in their retaliation. Using Kereta’s personal account as my reference, I tried to visualize what it would feel like to witness my father stabbed with a sword, beaten until his brain splattered out and his eyes gouged out with a pick.

One historian told me that it wasn’t uncommon to find dead bodies of pregnant women suspected of Communist affiliation with their stomachs cut open and the baby ripped out. Such spectacles were displayed to terrify the Communists.

Also surprising to me, in a country that treasures family ties, Kereta’s father was turned in by his own nephew, and Degung is open about his hatred for his mother. The anti-Communist purge ruptured families and spread hatred between close relatives.

The history of 1965 was exploited by Suharto to consolidate his regime, through the depiction of a battle between the Army, cast as national heroes, and Communists as the evil villains. Having only recently learned of the mass slaughter, I found myself asking who were the real evildoers.

I’m also embarrassed that, for more than 30 years, Indonesians have been misled into revering and glorifying the Army, the force responsible for such brutal slaughter. The idea of valuing the death of six generals over the slaughter of up to a million citizens simply appalls me. How could the deaths of so many have even been concealed?

And now that the New Order regime has fallen, I find myself asking why this part of our history remains untold? The stigma against communism still prevails in Indonesia and few of our citizens know of our dark past.

Victims like Budi, who is descended form suspected Communists, are still ostracized in society. The year 1965 is still remembered on a national scale solely for the failed coup. Even the national curriculum and official history textbooks ignore the resulting slaughter. Of 10 people on the street, I would be surprised to find one with knowledge of the mass killings.

What transpired in 1965 was a gross violation of human rights, so why doesn’t the current government have the courage and willingness to confront the past? Shouldn’t those responsible be brought to justice? At the very least, shouldn’t the government ensure that Indonesians know the truth about this dark chapter of our history?

Yes, what happened was shameful, but that doesn’t justify us ignoring it. Taking legal action against those responsible may be the ultimate resolution to the struggle of the victims and following generations. But what I feel is more important is for people to know that Indonesia once executed its own people and the government covered those actions without a trace.

Correction of this period in history must occur so Indonesia, as a nation, can avoid the misperception that history must repeat itself.

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