G30S Movement
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The Thirtieth of September Movement (, also known as G30S, and by the
syllabic abbreviation An abbreviation () is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method including shortening, contraction, initialism (which includes acronym), or crasis. An abbreviation may be a shortened form of a word, usually ended with a trailing per ...
Gestapu for ''Gerakan September Tiga Puluh'', Thirtieth of September Movement, also unofficially called Gestok, for ''Gerakan Satu Oktober'', or First of October Movement) was a self-proclaimed organization of
Indonesian National Armed Forces The Indonesian National Armed Forces (; abbreviated as TNI) are the military forces of the Republic of Indonesia. It consists of the Indonesian Army, Army (''TNI-AD''), Indonesian Navy, Navy (''TNI-AL''), and Indonesian Air Force, Air Force ('' ...
members. In the early hours of 1 October 1965, they assassinated six
Indonesian Army The Indonesian Army ( (TNI-AD), ) is the army, land branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It has an estimated strength of 300,400 active personnel. The history of the Indonesian Army has its roots in 1945 when the (TKR) "People's Se ...
generals in an abortive ''
coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
''. Later that morning, the organization declared that it was in control of media and communication outlets and had taken President
Sukarno Sukarno (6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of the Indonesian struggle for independenc ...
under its protection. By the end of the day, the coup attempt had failed in
Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
. Meanwhile, in central
Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
there was an attempt to take control over an army division and several cities. By the time this rebellion was put down, two more senior officers were dead. In the days and weeks that followed, the army, socio-political, and religious groups blamed the coup attempt on the
Communist Party of Indonesia The Communist Party of Indonesia (Indonesian language, Indonesian: ''Partai Komunis Indonesia'', PKI) was a communist party in the Dutch East Indies and later Indonesia. It was the largest non-ruling communist party in the world before its Indo ...
(PKI). Soon a mass purge was underway, which resulted in the imprisonment and deaths of many actual or suspected Communist Party members and sympathizers. Under the '' New Order'' and to this day, the movement is usually referred to as the Thirtieth of September Movement/PKI ( or "G30S/PKI") by those wanting to associate it with the PKI, and this term is also sometimes used by the current government.Roosa (2006) p. 29. Investigations and questioning of
Suharto Suharto (8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian Officer (armed forces), military officer and politician, and dictator, who was the second and longest serving president of Indonesia, serving from 1967 to 1998. His 32 years rule, cha ...
's version of the events were long obstructed in Indonesia. While the
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
(CIA) initially believed that Sukarno orchestrated all of it, several outside sources found inconsistencies and holes in the army claims, notably
Benedict Anderson Benedict Richard O'Gorman Anderson (August 26, 1936 – December 13, 2015) was an Anglo-Irish political scientist and historian who lived and taught in the United States. Anderson is best known for his 1983 book ''Imagined Communities'', which e ...
and Ruth McVey who wrote the
Cornell Paper ''A Preliminary Analysis of the October 1, 1965, Coup in Indonesia'', more commonly known as the "Cornell Paper", is an academic publication detailing the events of an abortive ''coup d'état'' attempt by the self-proclaimed September 30 Movemen ...
that challenged it.


Background

From the late 1950s, President
Sukarno Sukarno (6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of the Indonesian struggle for independenc ...
's position came to depend on balancing the opposing and increasingly hostile forces of the army and the PKI. His "anti-imperialist" ideology made Indonesia increasingly dependent on the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
and, particularly,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. In the 1960s, the conflict between the
army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
and the PKI became increasingly intense because the PKI proposed to President
Sukarno Sukarno (6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of the Indonesian struggle for independenc ...
to support the establishment of a Angkatan kelima It was a left-wing militia of workers and peasants armed primarily to support the ongoing confrontation with Malaysia. This proposal was opposed by the army generals of the TNI because they feared that the PKI would become the fifth force as a military militia against the TNI in the future if a civil war occurred. The fifth force itself has been trained by the
Indonesian air force The Indonesian Air Force (, sometimes shortened as IDAF / IdAF) is the Air force, aerial branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. The Indonesian Air Force is headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, and is headed by the Chief of Staff of th ...
at Lubang Buaya near
Halim Perdanakusuma Airport Halim or Haleem () is an Arabic masculine given name which means gentle, forbearing, mild, patient, understanding, indulgent, slow to anger.Golziher, Ignaz, ''Muslim Studies'', ed. S.M. Stern (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1967), pp. ...
, the air force headquarters. By 1965, at the height of the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
, the PKI extensively penetrated all levels of government. With the support of Sukarno and the air force, the party gained increasing influence at the expense of the army, thus ensuring the army's enmity. By late 1965, the army was divided between a left-wing faction allied with the PKI and a right-wing faction that was being courted by the United States. In need of Indonesian allies in its Cold War against the Soviet Union, the United States cultivated a number of ties with officers of the military through exchanges and arms deals. This fostered a split in the military's ranks, with the United States and others backing a right-wing faction against a left-wing faction leaning towards the PKI.


Insurgency on 1 October


Kidnapping and murder of generals

At around 3:15 am on 1 October, seven detachments of troops in trucks and buses dispatched by Lieutenant Colonel
Untung Syamsuri Lieutenant Colonel Untung bin Syamsuri (Sruni, Kebumen, Central Java, 3 July 1926Army Judiciary Education Center (1966) p. 3 – September 1967Hughes (2002) p. 205) was one of the leaders of the 1965 coup attempt in Indonesia known as the 30 Sep ...
(commander of Tjakrabirawa, the presidential guard), comprising troops from the
Tjakrabirawa Regiment The Tjakrabirawa Regiment was the presidential bodyguard unit of the former Indonesian President Sukarno. It was disbanded in 1966 because of its involvement in the coup attempt of the 30 September Movement. History The Tjakrabirawa Regiment w ...
(Presidential Guards), the
Diponegoro Prince Diponegoro (; born Bendara Raden Mas Mustahar, ; later Bendara Raden Mas Antawirya, ; 11 November 1785 – 8 January 1855), also known as Dipanegara and Dipa Negara, was a Javanese prince who opposed the Dutch colonial rule. The eldest s ...
(Central Java), and
Brawijaya Brawijaya University (, abbreviated as UB), is an autonomous state university in Indonesia established on 5 January 1963, in Malang, East Java. The University of Brawijaya is recognized as one of the elite campuses in Indonesia and consistentl ...
(East Java) Divisions, left the movement's base at Halim Perdanakusumah Air Force Base, just south of Jakarta to kidnap seven generals, all members of the Army General Staff.Anderson & McVey (1971).Roosa (2006) p. 36. Three of the intended victims, (Minister/Commander of the Army Lieutenant General
Ahmad Yani Ahmad Yani (19 June 1922 – 1 October 1965) was the Commander of the Indonesian Army, and was killed by members of the 30 September Movement during an attempt to kidnap him from his house. Early life Ahmad Yani was born in Jenar, Purwore ...
, Major General M. T. Haryono, and Brigadier General
D. I. Pandjaitan Donald Izacus Pandjaitan (9 June 1925 – 1 October 1965) was an Indonesian General who was killed during a kidnap attempt by the members of the 30 September Movement. Of the six Army Generals killed in the coup attempt, he was the only Christian ...
) were killed at their homes, while three more (Major General Soeprapto, Major General S. Parman, and Brigadier General Sutoyo) were taken alive. Meanwhile, their main target, Coordinating Minister of Defense and Security and Armed Forces Chief of Staff, General
Abdul Haris Nasution Abdul Haris Nasution (; 3 December 1918 – 6 September 2000) was a high-ranking Indonesian general and politician. He served in the military during the Indonesian National Revolution and remained in the military during the subsequent turmoil of ...
managed to escape the kidnap attempt by jumping over a wall into the Iraqi embassy garden. However his personal aide, First Lieutenant
Pierre Tendean Pierre Andries Tendean (21 February 1939 – 1 October 1965) was an Indonesian Army lieutenant. He was best known as a victim of the 30th September Movement ( G30S) and posthumously awarded as revolution hero, later Indonesian national hero. Ea ...
, was captured after being mistaken for Nasution in the dark.Roosa (2006) p. 40. Nasution's five-year-old daughter, Ade Irma Suryani Nasution, was shot by the assault group and died on 6 October. In addition a police officer guarding Nasution's neighbour, Police Chief Brigadier Karel Sadsuitubun, was shot and killed by the kidnapping group. A final victim was Albert Naiborhu, General Pandjaitan's nephew, who was killed during the raid on the General's home. The generals and the bodies of their dead colleagues were taken to a place known as
Lubang Buaya Lubang Buaya (literally "crocodile's pit") is an administrative village (''kelurahan'' in Indonesian) in Cipayung, East Jakarta, Indonesia, located on the outskirts of Jakarta near the Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base. It is the site of the m ...
near Halim where those still alive were shot dead. The bodies of all the victims were then thrown down a disused well near the base.Ricklefs (1982) p. 269.Sekretariat Negara Republik Indonesia (1994) p. 103.


Takeover in Jakarta

Later that morning, around 1,000 troops from two Java-based divisions (the 454th Infantry Battalion from the Diponegoro Division and the 530th Infantry Battalion from the Brawijaya Division) occupied Lapangan Merdeka, the park around the
National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...
in central Jakarta, and three sides of the square, including the RRI (
Radio Republik Indonesia (Radio of the Republic of Indonesia, abbreviated as RRI, stylized in logo in all-lowercase) is a public radio network of Indonesia and one of Indonesia's two national Public Broadcasting Institutions, the other being the public television n ...
) main building and studios. They did not occupy the east side of the square – the location of the armed forces strategic reserve (
KOSTRAD The Army Strategic Reserve Command (; abbreviated Kostrad) is a combined-arms formation of the Indonesian Army. Kostrad is a Corps level command which has up to 35,000 troops. It also supervises operational readiness among all commands and con ...
) headquarters, commanded at the time by Major General Suharto. At some time during the night, D. N. Aidit, the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) leader and Air Vice Marshal
Omar Dani Air Chief Marshal (Ret.) Omar Dhani (23 January 1924 – 24 July 2009) was commander of the Indonesian Air Force (TNI-AU) from 1962 until 1965. He was a leading leftist figure in Indonesia during the Sukarno era. Early life and career Dhani fir ...
, the Air Force commander both went to the Halim AFB, which pointed to their involvement in the movement. Following the news at 7 am, RRI broadcast a message from Lieutenant Colonel
Untung Syamsuri Lieutenant Colonel Untung bin Syamsuri (Sruni, Kebumen, Central Java, 3 July 1926Army Judiciary Education Center (1966) p. 3 – September 1967Hughes (2002) p. 205) was one of the leaders of the 1965 coup attempt in Indonesia known as the 30 Sep ...
, commander of the 1st Honor Guard Battalion (Army),
Tjakrabirawa Regiment The Tjakrabirawa Regiment was the presidential bodyguard unit of the former Indonesian President Sukarno. It was disbanded in 1966 because of its involvement in the coup attempt of the 30 September Movement. History The Tjakrabirawa Regiment w ...
, to the effect that the 30 September Movement, an internal army organization, had taken control of strategic locations in Jakarta, with the help of other military units. They proclaimed that this was to forestall a coup attempt by a 'Generals' Council' aided by the
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
, intent on removing Sukarno on
Armed Forces Day An Armed Forces Day, alongside its Military branch, branch-specific variants often referred to as Army or Soldier's Day, Navy or Sailor's Day, and Air Force or Aviator's Day, is a holiday dedicated to honoring the Military, armed forces, o ...
, 5 October.Roosa (2006) p. 35. It was also stated that President Sukarno was under the movement's protection. Sukarno traveled to Halim 'after learning that there were troops near the Palace on the north side of Lapangan Merdeka' and also claimed (later) 'that this was so he could be near an aircraft should he need to leave Jakarta'. Further radio announcements from RRI later that day listed 45 members of the G30S Movement and stated that all army ranks above Lieutenant Colonel would be abolished.Ricklefs (1982) pp. 269–270.Sekretariat Negara Republik Indonesia (1994) Appendix p. 13. While at Halim, the president met with Deputy Prime Minister
Johannes Leimena Johannes Leimena (Often abbreviated as J. Leimana; 6 March 1905 – 29 March 1977), more colloquially referred to as Om Jo, was an Indonesian politician, physician, and National Hero of Indonesia, national hero. He was one of the List of longest ...
and the navy and police commanders, along with the attorney general and the palace guard chief to plan for a replacement to the post of Commander of the Army which was by now vacant.Roosa (2006) p. 52.


The end of the movement in Jakarta

At 5.30 am,
Suharto Suharto (8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian Officer (armed forces), military officer and politician, and dictator, who was the second and longest serving president of Indonesia, serving from 1967 to 1998. His 32 years rule, cha ...
, commander of the Army's Strategic Reserve (KOSTRAD), was woken up by his neighborSundhaussen (1982) p. 207. and told of the disappearances of the generals and the shootings at their homes. He went to
Kostrad The Army Strategic Reserve Command (; abbreviated Kostrad) is a combined-arms formation of the Indonesian Army. Kostrad is a Corps level command which has up to 35,000 troops. It also supervises operational readiness among all commands and con ...
HQ and tried to contact other senior officers. He managed to contact and to ensure the support of the commanders of the Navy and the National Police, but was unable to contact the Air Force Commander. He then took command of the Army and issued orders confining all troops to their barracks. Because of poor planning, the coup leaders had failed to provide provisions for the troops on Lapangan Merdeka, who were becoming hot and thirsty. They were under the impression that they were guarding the president in the palace. Over the course of the afternoon, Suharto persuaded both battalions to give up without a fight, first the Brawijaya battalion, who came over to Kostrad HQ, then the Diponegoro troops, which withdrew to Halim. His troops gave Untung's forces inside the radio station an ultimatum and they also withdrew. By 7 pm Suharto was in control of all the installations previously held by the 30 September Movement's forces. Now joined by Nasution, at 9 pm he announced over the radio that he was now in command of the Army and that he would destroy the counter-revolutionary forces and save Sukarno. He then issued another ultimatum, this time to the troops at Halim. Later that evening, Sukarno left Halim and arrived in
Bogor Bogor City (), or Bogor (, ), is a landlocked city in the West Java, Indonesia. Located around south of the national capital of Jakarta, Bogor is the 6th largest city in the Jakarta metropolitan area and the 14th overall nationwide.
, where there was another presidential palace.Roosa (2006) p. 59.Ricklefs (1982) p. 270. Most of the rebel troops fled, and after a minor battle in the early hours of 2 October, the Army regained control of Halim, Aidit flew to
Yogyakarta Yogyakarta is the capital city of the Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by Hamengkubuwono, a monarchy, Yogyakarta is regarded as an importan ...
and Dani to
Madiun Madiun () is a city in the western part of East Java, Indonesia, known for its agricultural center. The city has been administratively separate from the surrounding Madiun Regency since the formation of the two bodies in 1950, but the city remain ...
before the soldiers arrived. It was only on 4 October that the bodies of all seven casualties were recovered from the well in which they were thrown at Lubang Buaya. They were buried in a state burial on 5 October, Armed Forces Day, preceded by an address by Nasution. All seven Army officers and the police brigadier were, by order of President Sukarno in his capacity as the ''Commander of the Supreme Operations Command'' (), officially declared the very same day as '' Heroes of the Revolution'' posthumously per Decree of the President/Commander of KOTI No. 111/KOTI/1965.Mutiara Sumber Widya (publisher)(1999)


Events in Central Java

Following the 7 am radio broadcast on RRI, troops from the Diponegoro Division in Central Java took control of five of the seven battalions and other units in the name of the 30 September movement. The PKI mayor of
Solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''Star Wars Legends'' continuity * Kylo Ren (Ben Solo), a ''Star Wars'' character * Napoleon Solo, fr ...
, Utomo Ramelan, issued a statement in support of the movement.Roosa (2006) p. 55. Rebel troops in Yogyakarta, led by Major Muljono, kidnapped and later killed Col.
Katamso Katamso Darmokusumo (5 February 1923 – 1 October 1965) was the commander of Military District (Korem) 072 in the Diponegoro Area Military command of the Indonesian Army in Central Java. He was kidnapped on 1 October 1965 and killed later t ...
and his chief of staff Lt. Col. Sugiyono. However, once news of the movement's failure in Jakarta became known, most of its followers in Central Java gave themselves up. On 5 October, both Katamso and Sugiyono, the commander and executive officer of the 72nd Military Area at the time of their murders, were also posthumously named ''Heroes of the Revolution'' by Sukarno, also in his capacity of Commander of KOTI.


Aftermath


Anti-communist purge

Suharto and his associates immediately blamed the PKI as masterminds of the 30 September Movement. With the support of the Army, and fueled by horrific tales of the alleged torture and mutilation of the generals at Lubang Buaya, anti-PKI demonstrations and then violence soon broke out. Violent mass action started in Aceh, then shifted to Central and East Java.Sundhaussen (1982) pp. 215–216. Suharto then sent the RPKAD paratroops under Col. Sarwo Edhie to Central Java. When they arrived in
Semarang Semarang (Javanese script, Javanese: , ''Kutha Semarang'') is the capital and largest city of Central Java province in Indonesia. It was a major port during the Netherlands, Dutch Dutch East Indies, colonial era, and is still an important regio ...
, locals burned the PKI headquarters to the ground.Hughes (2002) p. 160. The army swept through the countryside and were aided by locals in killing suspected communists. In East Java, members of
Ansor Youth Movement Ansor Youth Movement (, often abbreviated as GP Ansor) is a non-profit Islamic youth organization based in Indonesia, affiliated with Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the largest Islamic mass organization in the world. Founded on April 24, 1934, GP Ansor ha ...
, the youth wing of the
Nahdlatul Ulama Nahdlatul Ulama (, , NU) is an Islamic organization in Indonesia. Its membership numbered over 40 million in 2023, making it the largest Islamic organization in the world. NU is also a charitable body funding schools and hospitals as well as or ...
went on a killing frenzy, and the slaughter later spread to
Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...
. Figures given for the number of people killed across Indonesia vary from 78,000 to one million.Sundhaussen (1982) p. 218. Among the dead was
Aidit Dipa Nusantara Aidit (born Ahmad Aidit; 30 July 1923 – 22 November 1965) was an Indonesian communist politician, who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) from 1951 until his summary execution during the mass k ...
, who was captured by the Army on 21 November and summarily executed shortly after.Sundhaussen (1982) p. 217.Roosa (2006) p. 69. Recently released records from the United States Department of State indicate that the U.S. embassy in Jakarta tracked the killings of these leftists, and that U.S. officials "actively supported" the efforts of the Indonesian Army to quell the labor movement. Several hundred or thousand Indonesian leftists travelling abroad were unable to return to their homeland. Djawoto, the ambassador to China, refused to be recalled and spent the rest of his life outside of Indonesia.Encyclopedia of Jakarta.
Djawoto
''
Some of these exiles, writers by trade, continued writing. This Indonesian exile literature was full of hatred for the new government and written simply, for general consumption, but necessarily published internationally.


Commemoration

Immediately following Suharto's appointment as President in 1967, 1 October was decreed as Pancasila Sanctity Day (). The government's official narrative is that the day is commemorated to celebrate the triumph of Pancasila over all ideologies, especially "Communism/Marxism-Leninism" (''
sic The Latin adverb ''sic'' (; ''thus'', ''so'', and ''in this manner'') inserted after a quotation indicates that the quoted matter has been transcribed or translated as found in the source text, including erroneous, archaic, or unusual spelling ...
''; official terminology). It is still commemorated until present day.


Theories about the 30 September Movement


A PKI coup attempt: The first "official" (New Order) version

The Army leadership began making accusations of PKI involvement at an early stage. Later, the government of President
Suharto Suharto (8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian Officer (armed forces), military officer and politician, and dictator, who was the second and longest serving president of Indonesia, serving from 1967 to 1998. His 32 years rule, cha ...
would reinforce this impression by referring to the movement using the abbreviation "G30S/PKI". School textbooks followed the official government line that the PKI, worried about Sukarno's health and concerned about their position should he die, acted to seize power and establish a
communist state A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...
. The trials of key conspirators were used as evidence to support this view, as was the publication of a cartoon supporting the 30 September Movement in the 2 October issue of the PKI newspaper ''
Harian Rakjat () was an Indonesian newspaper published by the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) from 1951 to 1965. The motto was ('For the people there is only one daily, Harian Rakjat!'). Harian Rakyat was managed by Njoto as a member of the editoria ...
''. According to later pronouncements by the army, the PKI manipulated gullible left-wing officers such as Untung through a mysterious " special bureau" that reported only to the party secretary, Aidit. This case relied on a confession by the alleged head of the bureau, named Sjam, during a staged trial in 1967. But it was never convincingly proved to Western academic specialists, and has been challenged by some Indonesian accounts. The New Order government promoted this version with a Rp800 million film directed by Arifin C. Noer entitled '' Pengkhianatan G30S/PKI'' (''Treachery of G30S/PKI''; 1984). Between 1984 and 1998 the film was broadcast on the state television station
TVRI TVRI (, Television of the Republic of Indonesia) is an Indonesian national public television network and one of Indonesia's two national Public Broadcasting Institutions, the other being the public radio network RRI. First publicly airing in ...
and, later, private stations; it was also required viewing at schools and political institutions. A 2000 survey by the Indonesian magazine ''
Tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...
'' found 97% of the 1,101 students surveyed had seen the film; 87% of them had seen it more than once.


A PKI coup attempt: Western scholars' theories

A number of Western scholars, while rejecting Suharto's propaganda, argue that the 30 September Movement was indeed a PKI coup d'état attempt. Robert Cribb states that "the Movement aimed to throw the army high command off balance, discredit the generals as apparent enemies of Sukarno, and shift Indonesian politics to the left so that the PKI could come to power rapidly, though probably not immediately"; Cribb believes that the PKI acted because it feared that, given Sukarno's failing health, the system of Guided Democracy would soon collapse, allowing the right-wing faction in Indonesian society to take over the country. John Roosa writes that the 30 September Movement was an attempt to purge the Indonesian government of anti-communist influences, that failed because it was "a tangled, incoherent mess".


Internal army affair

In 1971,
Benedict Anderson Benedict Richard O'Gorman Anderson (August 26, 1936 – December 13, 2015) was an Anglo-Irish political scientist and historian who lived and taught in the United States. Anderson is best known for his 1983 book ''Imagined Communities'', which e ...
and Ruth McVey wrote an article which came to be known as the
Cornell Paper ''A Preliminary Analysis of the October 1, 1965, Coup in Indonesia'', more commonly known as the "Cornell Paper", is an academic publication detailing the events of an abortive ''coup d'état'' attempt by the self-proclaimed September 30 Movemen ...
. In the essay they proposed that the 30 September Movement was not a party-political but entirely an internal army affair, as the PKI had insisted. They claimed that the action was a result of dissatisfaction on the part of junior officers, who found it extremely difficult to obtain promotions and resented the generals' corrupt and decadent lifestyles. They allege that the PKI was deliberately involved by, for example, bringing Aidit to Halim: a diversion from the embarrassing fact the Army was behind the movement. Recently Anderson expanded on his theory that the coup attempt was almost totally an internal matter of a divided military with the PKI playing only a peripheral role; that the right-wing generals assassinated on 1 October 1965 were, in fact, the Council of Generals coup planning to assassinate Sukarno and install themselves as a
military junta A military junta () is a system of government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''Junta (governing body), junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the Junta (Peninsular War), national and local junta organized by t ...
. Anderson argues that G30S was indeed a movement of officers loyal to Sukarno who carried out their plan believing it would preserve, not overthrow, Sukarno's rule. The boldest claim in the Anderson theory, however, is that the generals were in fact privy to the G30S assassination plot. Central to the Anderson theory is an examination of a little-known figure in the Indonesian army, Colonel Abdul Latief. Latief had spent a career in the Army and, according to Anderson, had been both a staunch Sukarno loyalist and a friend with Suharto. Following the coup attempt, however, Latief was jailed and named a conspirator in G30S. At his military trial in the 1970s, Latief made the accusation that Suharto himself had been a co-conspirator in the G30S plot, and had betrayed the group for his own purposes. Anderson points out that Suharto himself has twice admitted to meeting Latief in a hospital on 30 September 1965 (i.e. G30S) and that his two narratives of the meeting are contradictory. In an interview with American journalist Arnold Brackman, Suharto stated that Latief had been there merely "to check" on him, as his son was receiving care for a burn. In a later interview with , Suharto stated that Latief had gone to the hospital in an attempt on his life, but had lost his nerve. Anderson believes that in the first account, Suharto was simply being disingenuous; in the second, that he had lied.Further backing his claim, Anderson cites
circumstantial evidence Circumstantial evidence is evidence that relies on an inference to connect it to a conclusion of fact, such as a fingerprint at the scene of a crime. By contrast, direct evidence supports the truth of an assertion directly, i.e., without need ...
that Suharto was indeed in on the plot. Among these are: * That almost all the key military participants named as part of G30S were, either at the time of the assassinations or just previously, close subordinates of Suharto: Lieutenant-Colonel Untung, Colonel Latief, and Brigadier-General
Supardjo Mustafa Sjarief Soepardjo (23 March 1923 – 16 May 1970), also known as Supardjo, was a Brigadier General in the Indonesian Army. He was one of the leaders of the 30 September Movement, a group that killed six of the army's top generals and l ...
in Jakarta, and Colonel Suherman, Major Usman, and their associates at the Diponegoro Division's HQ in Semarang. * That in the case of Untung and Latief, their association with Suharto was so close that they attended each other's family events and celebrated their sons' rites of passage together. * That the two generals who had direct command of all troops in Jakarta (save for the Presidential Guard, who carried out the assassinations) were Suharto and Jakarta Military Territory Commander
Umar Wirahadikusumah Umar Wirahadikusumah (; 10 October 1924 – 21 March 2003) was an Indonesian people, Indonesian politician and former Indonesian Army, army general, who served as the fourth vice president of Indonesia, serving from 1983 until 1988. Previously, ...
. Neither of these figures were assassinated, and (if Anderson's theory that Suharto lied about an attempt on his life by Latief is confirmed) no attempt was even made. * That during the time period in which the assassination plot was organized, Suharto (as commander of Kostrad) had made a habit of acting in a duplicitous manner: while Suharto was privy to command decisions made in the context of then ongoing ''Konfrontasi'' with Malaysia, the intelligence chief of his unit Ali Murtopo had been making connections and providing information to the hostile governments of Malaysia, Singapore, United Kingdom, and the United States through an espionage operation run by Benny Moerdani in Thailand. Moerdani later became a spy chief in Suharto's government.


Suharto with US support

Professor Peter Dale Scott alleges that the entire movement was designed to allow for Suharto's response. Dale Scott draws attention to the fact the side of Lapangan Merdeka on which KOSTRAD was situated was not occupied, and that only those generals who might have prevented Suharto seizing power (except Nasution) were kidnapped. Scott also discusses the relationship between Suharto and three of the Army battalions involved in the coup, which were under his command and staffed by US-trained soldiers. He notes that these battalions switched sides during the rebellion, working to both instigate and quell the coup.Scott (1985) p. 243. He also alleges that the fact that the generals were killed near an air force base where PKI members had been trained allowed him to shift the blame away from the Army. He links the support given by the CIA to anti-Sukarno rebels in the 1950s to their later support for Suharto and anti-communist forces. He points out that training in the US of Indonesian Army personnel continued even as overt military assistance dried up, and contends that the US contributed substantial covert aid, noting that the US military presence in Jakarta was at an all-time high in 1965,Scott (1985) p. 255. and that the US government delivered a shipment of 200 military aircraft to the Indonesian Army the summer before the coup.Scott (1985) p. 254. Scott also implicates the CIA in the destabilization of the Indonesian economy in 1965, and notes that investment by US corporations in Indonesia increased in the months prior to the movement, which he argues indicates US foreknowledge of the plot.Scott (1985) p. 257. Another damaging revelation came to light when it emerged that one of the main plotters, Col Latief, was a close associate of Suharto, as were other key figures in the movement, and that Latief actually visited Suharto on the night before the murders.Wertheim (1970). A Tirto.id article also suggests that Suharto, with the military, was behind the attack. It mentions the military's cooperation with Washington after the latter's failure in taking over Sumatra, an area which at that time contained strong support for Marxism and therefore constituted a threat for the Western bloc, particularly the US. Over time, the military and the PKI became increasingly at-odds. In August 1965, the military feared that because of the Fifth Regiment (Angkatan Kelima), they would not able to monopolise the military - and as a result, the PKI would be unstoppable. This led to impatience within the military for the fall of Sukarno.


British psyops

The role of the
Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...
and
MI6 The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...
intelligence service of United Kingdom, then Indonesia's colonial neighbor on the island of Borneo, has also come to light, in a series of exposés by Paul Lashmar and James Oliver in ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' newspaper in December 1998, as well as their book, ''Britain's Secret Propaganda War''. The revelations included an anonymous Foreign Office source stating that the decision to unseat President Sukarno was made by Prime Minister
Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986), was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Nickn ...
then executed under Prime Minister
Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...
. According to the exposés, the United Kingdom had already become alarmed with the announcement of the '' Konfrontasi'' policy. It has been claimed that a CIA memorandum of 1962 indicated that Prime Minister Macmillan and President
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...
were increasingly alarmed by the possibility of the confrontation with Malaysia spreading, and agreed to "liquidate President Sukarno, depending on the situation and available opportunities." However, the documentary evidence does not support this claim. To weaken the regime, the
Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...
's
Information Research Department The Information Research Department (IRD) was a secret Cold War propaganda department of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Foreign Office, created to publish anti-communist propaganda, including black propaganda, provide support and i ...
(IRD) coordinated
psychological operations Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PsyOp), has been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations (MISO), Psy Ops, political warfare, "Hearts and Min ...
in concert with the British military, to spread
black propaganda Black propaganda is a form of propaganda intended to create the impression that it was created by those it is supposed to discredit. Black propaganda contrasts with gray propaganda, which does not identify its source, as well as white propagan ...
casting the
Communist Party of Indonesia The Communist Party of Indonesia (Indonesian language, Indonesian: ''Partai Komunis Indonesia'', PKI) was a communist party in the Dutch East Indies and later Indonesia. It was the largest non-ruling communist party in the world before its Indo ...
(PKI),
Chinese Indonesians Chinese Indonesians (), or simply ''Orang Tionghoa'' or ''Tionghoa'', are Indonesians whose ancestors arrived from China at some stage in the last eight centuries. Chinese Indonesians are the fourth largest community of Overseas Chinese in th ...
, and
Sukarno Sukarno (6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of the Indonesian struggle for independenc ...
in a bad light. These efforts were to duplicate the successes of British Psyop campaign in the
Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War, was a guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war fought in Federation of Malaya, Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Arm ...
. Of note, these efforts were coordinated from the British High Commission in
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
where the British Broadcasting Corporation (
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
),
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
(AP), and ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' filed their reports on the Indonesian turmoil. According to Roland Challis, the BBC correspondent who was in Singapore at the time, journalists were open to manipulation by IRD because of Sukarno's stubborn refusal to allow them into the country: "In a curious way, by keeping correspondents out of the country Sukarno made them the victims of official channels, because almost the only information you could get was from the British ambassador in Jakarta." These manipulations included the BBC reporting that communists were planning to slaughter the citizens of Jakarta. The accusation was based solely on a forgery planted by Norman Reddaway, a propaganda expert with the IRD. He later bragged in a letter to the British ambassador in Jakarta, Sir Andrew Gilchrist that it "went all over the world and back again," and was "put almost instantly back into Indonesia via the BBC." Gilchrist himself informed the Foreign Office on 5 October 1965: "I have never concealed from you my belief that a little shooting in Indonesia would be an essential preliminary to effective change." In April 2000, Sir
Denis Healey Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey (30 August 1917 – 3 October 2015) was a British Labour Party politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979 and as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970; he remains the lo ...
,
Secretary of State for Defence The secretary of state for defence, also known as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Ministry of Defence. As a senior minister, the incumbent is a member of the ...
at the time of the war, confirmed to ''The Independent'' that the IRD was active during this time. He officially denied any role by MI6, and denied "personal knowledge" of the British arming the right-wing faction of the Army, though he did comment that if there were such a plan, he "would certainly have supported it." Although MI6 is strongly implicated in this scheme by the use of the Information Research Department (seen as an MI6 office), any role by MI6 itself is officially denied by the UK government, and papers relating to it had yet to be declassified by the
Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for supporting the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister and Cabinet ...
. (''The Independent'', 6 December 2000) Upon declassification, the documents were used to contend that the British had supported the slaughter and that this was done in three ways: encouragement of the killing; giving the Indonesian military a free hand by furnishing assurances that there would be no British intervention while PKI was being crushed; and propaganda operations. In October 2021, further light was shed on the United Kingdom's role when declassified documents revealed that the government had covertly deployed black propaganda in order to urge prominent Indonesians to "cut out hecommunist cancer". As the atrocities began in October 1965, British spooks called for "the PKI and all communist organisations obe eliminated". The nation, they warned, would be in danger "as long as the communist leaders are at large and their rank and file are allowed to go unpunished".


Series of inconsistencies

Historian John Roosa highlights several inconsistencies in the official version of the events. Roosa primarily bases his theories on the candid reflection of
Supardjo Mustafa Sjarief Soepardjo (23 March 1923 – 16 May 1970), also known as Supardjo, was a Brigadier General in the Indonesian Army. He was one of the leaders of the 30 September Movement, a group that killed six of the army's top generals and l ...
. As a general who joined the movement just days before its execution, Supardjo offers a unique perspective on the movement as both an outsider and insider. In his testimony intended for the PKI leadership, he assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the 30 September Movement, particularly those of its presumed leader,
Kamaruzaman Sjam Kamaruzaman Sjam (30 April 1924 – 30 September 1986), also known as Kamarusaman bin Achmad Mubaidah and Sjam, was a key member of the Communist Party of Indonesia who was executed for his part in the 1965 coup attempt known as the 30 Septembe ...
. Roosa then challenges the credibility of the evidence on which the Suharto regime based its official narrative. The evidence provided by the army consisted of the testimony of two officers who were under the influence of torture and therefore unreliable. Hence, Roosa indicates that the army does not provide conclusive evidence of the PKI being the mastermind behind the movement. Similarly, he asks why, if the movement was planned by military officers, as alleged in the
Cornell Paper ''A Preliminary Analysis of the October 1, 1965, Coup in Indonesia'', more commonly known as the "Cornell Paper", is an academic publication detailing the events of an abortive ''coup d'état'' attempt by the self-proclaimed September 30 Movemen ...
, was it so poorly planned. Despite the movement being labeled a "coup attempt", the movement's troops did not execute the plan with military efficiency or planning. As Roosa notes, the movement's military force, which only consisted of 2,130 total military personnel and 2,000 civilians, was spread too thin to constitute a single operational force, especially compared to the number of military troops stationed in the city(footnote). Also, the lack of tanks proves that the forces did not have the intention of taking government control. The forces of Aidit and his men were separated from the rest of the movement's forces under Untung and the other men by a total distance of two miles, under two separate strategic headquarters. Furthermore, the two forces did not have efficient means of communication between them; the movement itself shut down the city's telephone system when it took over the telecommunications building, and neither group had walkie-talkies or other radio devices to relay plans back and forth. Instead, several of the leaders used shuttles and couriers as a means of communication. Roosa contributes these inconsistencies in planning to Sjam, noting his lack of experience in military strategy. In any case, he says, the movement's leaders as a group were too disparate to find enough common ground to carry out the operation. Throughout the coup attempt, the PKI utilized the broadcast system a total of four times, greatly limiting their presentation of the movement to the public. Each broadcast was also inconsistent and clashing. The first statement reported the movement's capture of the generals and their intent to act against the sympathizers of the Council of Generals. After five hours, the PKI released its second statement revealing the names of the deputy commanders under Lieutenant Colonel Untung. The third broadcast, "Decision No. 1", listed the 45 members of the Indonesian Revolution Council. The fourth broadcast then declared Untung as the highest-ranking official and any higher member was to be demoted. Roosa argues that the broadcasts provided an inconsistent face to the public; and thus, they obtained little public support. The broadcasts were self-contradictory, as they oscillated between protecting Sukarno and disposing of him due to his unwillingness to support the movement. In the end, the broadcasts were ineffective and provided no assistance to the coup. As to the movement itself, Roosa concludes that it was led by Sjam, in collaboration with Aidit, but 'not' the PKI as a whole, together with Pono, Untung and Latief. Suharto was able to defeat the movement because he knew of it beforehand and because the Army had already prepared for such a contingency. He says Sjam was the link between the PKI members and the Army officers, but lack of coordination was a major reason for the failure of the movement.


Footnotes


References


Primary sources

* * The appendices of Roosa (2006) contain translations of two primary sources: a 1966 document by
Supardjo Mustafa Sjarief Soepardjo (23 March 1923 – 16 May 1970), also known as Supardjo, was a Brigadier General in the Indonesian Army. He was one of the leaders of the 30 September Movement, a group that killed six of the army's top generals and l ...
and the 1967 court testimony of
Kamaruzaman Sjam Kamaruzaman Sjam (30 April 1924 – 30 September 1986), also known as Kamarusaman bin Achmad Mubaidah and Sjam, was a key member of the Communist Party of Indonesia who was executed for his part in the 1965 coup attempt known as the 30 Septembe ...
. Roosa also lists interviews he conducted which are archived at the Institute of Indonesian Social History in Jakarta.


Secondary sources

* * * * * * * Fic, Victor M. (2005). ''Anatomy of the Jakarta Coup: 1 October 1965: The Collusion with China which destroyed the Army Command, President Sukarno and the Communist Party of Indonesia''. Jakarta: Yayasan Obor Indonesia. * * * Hughes, John (2002), ''The End of Sukarno – A Coup that Misfired: A Purge that Ran Wild'', Archipelago Press, * Lashmar, Paul and Oliver, James. "MI6 Spread Lies To Put Killer in Power", ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
''. (16 April 2000) * Lashmar, Paul and Oliver, James
"How we destroyed Sukarno"
''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
''. (6 December 2000) * *
Nugroho Notosusanto Brigadier General Raden Panji Nugroho Notosusanto (15 July 1930 – 3 June 1985) was an Indonesian short story writer turned military historian who served as a professor of history at the University of Indonesia. Born to a noble family in ...
&
Ismail Saleh Lieutenant General Ismail Saleh (7 November 1926 – 21 October 2008) was Prosecutor General and later Minister of Justice of Indonesia. Biography Saleh was born in Pati, Central Java on 7 November 1926. He graduated from a school for nativ ...
(1968) ''The Coup Attempt of the "30 September Movement" in Indonesia'', P.T. Pembimbing Masa-Djakarta. * Rafadi, Dedi & Latuconsina, Hudaya (1997) ''Pelajaran Sejarah untuk SMU Kelas 3 (History for 3rd Grade High School)'', Erlangga Jakarta. *
Ricklefs, M.C. Merle Calvin Ricklefs (17 July 1943 – 29 December 2019) was an American-born Australian scholar of the history and current affairs of Indonesia.Anthony Reid, 'Merle Calvin Ricklefs, AM July 17, 1943 - December 29, 2019', Emeritus' (The Austral ...
(1982) ''A History of Modern Indonesia'', MacMillan. * * * * Sekretariat Negara Republik Indonesia (1975) ''30 Tahun Indonesia Merdeka: Jilid 3 (1965–1973) (30 Years of Indonesian Independence: Volume 3 (1965–1973))'' * Sekretariat Negara Republik Indonesia (1994) ''Gerakan 30 September Pemberontakan Partai Komunis Indonesia: Latar Belakang, Aksi dan Penumpasannya (The 30 September Movement/Communist Party of Indonesia: Bankgrounds, Actions and its Annihilation)'' * * * Sundhaussen, Ulf (1982) ''The Road to Power: Indonesian Military Politics 1945–1967'', Oxford University Press. * Wertheim, W.F. (1970) ''Suharto and the Untung Coup – the Missing Link'', Journal of Contemporary Asia I No. 1 pp 50–57


External links

*
United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...
documents on U.S. Foreign Relations, 1964–1968: Indonesia **Coup and Counter Reaction, October 1965 – March 1966
Documents 142–205
{{Authority control Transition to the New Order Attempted coups in Indonesia Cold War conflicts 1965 murders in Indonesia Information Research Department Extrajudicial killings in Indonesia 1960s coups d'état and coup attempts Conflicts in 1965 1965 in politics October 1965 in Asia 20th century in Jakarta 20th century in Java Murder in Jakarta Military history of Jakarta