Pretext for mass murder : the September 30th movement and Suharto's coup d'etat in Indonesia

Author

• Roosa, John

Additional Author(s)

-

Publisher

Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press, 2006

Language

English

ISBN

9780299220341

Series

New perspectives in Southeast asian studies

Subject(s)

• GERAKAN TIGA PULUH SEPTEMBER
• INDONESIA-HISTORY-COUP D'ETAT, 1965
• INDONESIA-POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT-1950-1966
• PARTAI KOMUNIS INDONESIA

Notes

. Bibliography: p. 305-318. Index: p. 319-329

Abstract

On October 1, 1965, a group of Indonesian soldiers calling themselves "the September 30th movement" kidnapped and killed several high-ranking officers, claiming that they were preventing a plot against the president. But the movement itself was swiftly defeated, and another army general, Haji Suharto, took the opportunity to accuse the Communist Party of trying to overthrow the government. Seizing power for himself, he would rule Indonesia for more than three decades. The alleged Communist plot was a key element in Suharto's national mythology, but as Roosa explains, the haphazardness of the September 30th movement's actions has always provoked questions about its real motivations. His research, including a previously ignored account of the plot's shortcomings by one of its advisers, suggests that the truth lies close to the easiest explanation. The September 30th movement was not a coup, Roosa asserts, but an attempt to purge the Indonesian government of anti-Communist influences that failed because it was "a tangled, incoherent mess." Roosa's historical reconstruction is painstakingly detailed, yet laid out in a clear narrative. While some questions remain unanswered, his scenario provides a rational explanation for much of the chaos the political upheaval engendered.

Physical Dimension

Number of Page(s)

xii, 329 p.

Dimension

23 cm.

Other Desc.

-

Summary / Review / Table of Content

The incoherence of the facts --
Interpretations of the movement --
The Supardjo document --
Sjam and the special bureau --
Aidit and the PKI --
Suharto, the Indonesian Army, and the United States --
Assembling a new narrative --
Some factors that influenced the defeat of "The September 30th Movement" as viewed from a military perspective (1966) / by Brigadier General Supardjo --
The testimony of Sjam.

Exemplar(s)

#	Accession No.	Call Number	Location	Status
1.	02865/17	959.8036 Roo P	Library - 8th Floor	Available