The 30 September Movement instigated a crisis-fueled atmosphere. The different groups – the military, the religious, and the socialist and communist – all fell under his political concept of Nasakom, an acronym derived from the words Nasionalisme (nationalism), Agama (religion), and Komunisme (communism). Sukarno maintained his power by balancing the hostile tensions between the different political factions, earning him the epithet “the great dalang” (shadow puppet master). Major political actors of the time included the military, and the Islamic party Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), and the PKI. Leading up to this horrific incident, Indonesia was afflicted with sociopolitical unrest – under President Sukarno’s guided democracy, the nation-state faced economic deterioration and internal political conflict. These killings were instigated by an insurgency called the 30 September Movement, when six army generals were assassinated in an abortive coup. The years 1965-66 in Indonesia marked a horrific time of violence and strife, in which an estimated 500,000-1 million people were killed in what initially began as a political purge targeting the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI), the world’s largest communist party outside of a communist nation (Danaparamita, 2015). Here the media have a vital role to play. ![]() The full realization of democracy requires that all factions of society be allowed to exercise the right to communicate and to participate in political processes, including groups that have been marginalized, excluded, and in this case, faced massacre. However, the present state of Indonesia regarding its past crimes against humanity reveals that this transition is not complete – the power structures and the suppression entrenched in the Suharto regime carry on to the present. The post-Suharto era of Indonesia, which commenced in 1998 after the fall of the authoritarian Suharto, has been hailed as the country’s transition to democracy. In examining the 1965-66 Indonesian mass killings, one can question how historical perception has been collectively shaped by a regime that has been able to discredit and denigrate a certain group of people due to their ideological affiliation. The concept of collective memory fundamentally ties into how these pasts are continually constructed, thus facilitating discussions on the intersections between history, culture, and identity. The sign reads: “Reject the Symposium, PKI is the enemy of the people.” Photo courtesy: Antara/Rivan Awal Lingga ( The relationship between media and historical perception is a deeply entwined one – as a platform for the dissemination of communication, media possess the power to both strengthen the links and shape the understandings that communities have to their respective pasts. The group claims the now-defunct Indonesia Communist Party (PKI) is behind the event. Members of Front Pancasila protest the National Symposium 1965 event at Farmers’ Statute in Jakarta. In Media Development, Media Development 2016/4
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