The Communist Party of Indonesia was founded by Dutch communists like Henk Sneevliet. The party wanted a socialist revolution and made plans to carry one out. But the Dutch colonial government banned the party and arrested more then 16.000 members. The PKI was forced to work underground since the Dutch colonialists remained in complete control of Indonesia until 1949.
In 1942, the Japanese invaded Indonesia. Some nationalists choose to work with the Japanese against western imperialism. But the PKI knew that Japanese imperialism was as cruel as Dutch imperialism. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, the PKI was able to control some leftist groups. But Stalinist degeneration had turned the party away from revolutionary socialism. The new republican government of Indonesia was anticommunist and opposed the PKI. Soon there was a conflict between the right-wing nationalists and the Indonesian left-wing who united in the People's Democratic Front led by the PKI!
During the four year war with Dutch imperialists, the PKI was able to rally the left-wing of Indonesia. Together they joined up with the moderate nationalist forces of Sukarno, who became president of Indonesia in 1949. But the right-wing hated the communists and many members of radical nationalist and islamic parties committed various crimes against PKI members. After the war with the Dutch, the PKI wanted a socialist revolution in Indonesia. But the nationalist government started a massive crackdown and arrested many PKI members. This forced the PKI leadership to accept Sukarno and nationalist rule!
In the 1950's the party supported president Sukarno and his moderate nationalism. They won 16% during the elections of 1955 and got 39 seats. But the right-wing never liked them. Communists were hated and some were killed in right-wing attacks. Two years later the Islamists asked the government to ban the PKI. The Islamic Masyumi Party wanted a complete ban on all communist activities!
The anticommunists had good reasosn to fear the PKI. Because by 1959, more then 1,5 million people had joined the communist party. The trade unions all stood under the control of the PKI, yet because of Stalinist failures, the party-leadership choose to remain moderate. In August 1959, the right-wing of Indonesia tried their first coup against the government of Sukarno. Many members of the PKI were murdered, this was the first wave of White Terror in Indonesia.
This time the government was able to crush the right-wing uprising. Although the PKI was supportive of Sukarno it also became critical of his authoritarianism. In March 1960, the party was very critical of his undemocratic handling of the state budget. President Sukarno had the leader-ship of the PKI arrested by the military. After a few days they were released again.
By 1964, the national-communist Murba Party wanted to impose a single party state in Indonesia. The Murba Party was a nationalist communist party and based on stalinism with Indonesian nationalism. They stood in opposition to the PKI who still claimed to be internationalist. The national-communists asked president Sukarno to impose this single party state, because they wanted a ban on the PKI. But the president did not wanted a single party state and the Murba Party lost much credit. The PKI even called the Murba Party to be trotskyist and imperialist!
At this time the Communist Party of Indonesia had over 3 million members. This was alarming the right-wing elite and the anticommunists, who feared a communist coup. In reality the PKI was still very moderate and was not even calling for a socialist revolution. Yet the military of Indonesia was very anticommunist and on September 30 of 1965, they got what they always wanted. A reason to ban the PKI and to kill all its members!
It all started with the kidnapping and murder of five Indonesian generals by a group called the Thirtieth of September Movement. General Suharto of the military blamed the PKI for the killing of these five generals. Suharto and the military took control of the government and disposed president Sukarno. Now the anticommunists turned towards their main enemy. The anticommunist general ordered his troops to arrest and kill every PKI member and sympathizer. On October 18 of 1965, the PKI offices were burned down by angry anticommunists. This was the start of the great White Terror in Indonesia. More then 500,000 members and supporters of the Communist Party of Indonesia were rounded up and executed!
General Suharto became president of Indonesia and was support by almost every western nation. He had good relations with former colonials imperialists like the Dutch, but his main supporter was the government of the USA, who had no problems with the killings of 500.000 ''dirty communist pigs''. After years of working with the national bourgeoisie of Indonesia, the PKI leadership trusted Sukarno so much, they did nothing to oppose the killings. For days they waited for information and help from president Sukarno, who was disposed by Suharto. The party leadership was completely paralyzed by the mass murder!
For 48 years the Indonesian government kept silence over the killings. Dictator Suharto remained in power until 1998. He never had to face punishment for the mass murder he ordered in 1965. Suharto ordered all Indonesian children to be raised as anticommunists, hating communism and glorying the Indonesian military for ''stopping a communist coup in 1965''. The USA supported this lie and so the western world was very proud of this mass murder who killed 500.000 people. Even Saddam Hussein never killed so many!
Now in 2013, the Indonesian people see for the first time what really happened in 1965. Not in the big official cinema's, but in small cinema's. The documentary ''The act of Killing'' is the first Indonesian made documentary about the mass murder of 500.000 supporters of the PKI. But the government keeps silence. Even today in the so called ''democratic' era of Indonesia, the government does not accept the true. The Communist Party of Indonesia remains banned and the right-wing government and reactionary Islamists still attack left-wing people. Many reactionaries even call for a Islamic Republic of Indonesia!
The Republic of Indonesia is no democracy. The nation is a fake-democracy were only pro-capitalist parties are allowed. Leftist parties have little to no chance. The documentary ''The act of Killing'' is also good for many western leaders, who blindly supported Suharto during the Cold War. Let them see the horror's that this madman created. Let them see the crimes they supported in the name of anticommunism!
Anticommunists burn down the
offices of the PKI in 1965
500.000 were killed by them!
