Three Souths Affair (Indonesian: ''Peristiwa Tiga Selatan'') was a standoff between Indonesian 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 ...

and commanders of military region in

South Kalimantan South Kalimantan () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is the second most populous province on the island of Kalimantan, the Indonesian territory of the island of Borneo after West Kalimantan. The provincial capital was Banjar ...

South Sulawesi South Sulawesi () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province in the South Peninsula, Sulawesi, southern peninsula of Sulawesi, Indonesia. The Selayar Islands archipelago to the south of Sulawesi is also part of the province. The capital and largest ci ...

, and

South Sumatra South Sumatra () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, located in the southeast of the island of Sumatra. The capital and largest city of the province is the city of Palembang. The province borders the provinces of Jambi to the north ...

. The standoff began when on 22 August 1960, Hasan Basry as commander of South Kalimantan military region, banned all activities related to

Indonesian Communist Party The Communist Party of Indonesia ( 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 violent disbandment in ...

. Sukarno demanded Basry to lift the ban, which he rejected. The event escalated when commanders of South Sulawesi and South Sumatera followed the same move as what Basry did, which angered Sukarno. Basry further confronted Sukarno during regional commander annual meeting in November 1960, questioning why Sukarno wanted him to lift the ban. Because of Basry's position as a member of

People's Consultative Assembly The People's Consultative Assembly of the Republic of Indonesia (, MPR-RI) is the legislative branch in Indonesia's political system. It is composed of the members of a lower body, House of Representatives (DPR) and an upper body, Regional R ...

and a respected figure of people in Kalimantan due to Kalimantan Proclamation of 1949, Sukarno could not sanction him. The event further deteriorated relation between

Indonesian Armed Forces The Indonesian National Armed Forces (; abbreviated as TNI) are the military forces of the Republic of Indonesia. It consists of the Army (''TNI-AD''), Navy (''TNI-AL''), and Air Force (''TNI-AU''). The President of Indonesia is the Supreme ...

and Indonesian Communist Party until coup d'etat by

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 ...

and communist purge of 1965–66.Artha & Seman, 1999

References

{{Communism in Indonesia Communist Party of Indonesia 1960 in Indonesia