New Findings on the Indonesian Killings of 1965-66

• In Event: Hidden Connections: Communist Parties and Capitalist Forces in China and Southeast Asia

Abstract

In terms of sheer scale, the Indonesian killings of 1965-66 comprise the single most traumatic event in independent Indonesia. Fifty years after they were perpetrated, much of what is known about them hinges on anecdotal accounts that are, of necessity, local and limited in their scope. While authors including Cribb, Hughes, Kammen, MacGregor, May, Robinson, and Roosa have enriched the literature with their detailed accounts of the events, to date, there has not been an analysis that systematically compares the experiences of every district in the worst-affected provinces.

This project entails a detailed examination of statistics that inform our knowledge of the Indonesian killings of 1965-66. Using data previously not analyzed by scholars of the subject, evidence is presented on the severity of the killings across the three provinces and two special districts of Java and the provinces of Bali and North Sumatra, the subject of Oppenheimer’s now-famous film, “The Act of Killing.” The analysis identifies hot spots for the killings which, while broadly aligned with earlier accounts on the subject, yields some interesting new details of where the killings likely occurred and how intense they were in terms of numbers of victims.

After these patterns are established, the literature on the causes of the killings is examined with special focus on the role of the PKI, its international connections with the global Communist movement, including in China, politico-religious parties in Indonesia, and the Indonesian Army.

Author

• Siddharth Chandra, Michigan State University