Back to several years ago, When I was 14, my junior high school held an event on this very special date. The students were walking together with a teacher heading to a place in the noon. At that time, I had no idea about the event itself, I was busy catching and glimpsing at the boy who attracted me. Arriving to the place, I just got to know that there are mini theater near my school field. It was pretty old building with many large windows. It was so chill being inside because of the natural wind that howled. After getting a place to sit, I also got to know that we would have a movie called 'Penghianatan G30S PKI' to watched.
It was so difficult to catch a dialogue since I sat too far from the screen. I just had seen the motion picture instead of listening the dialoge. All that i have recall about that is, bloods everywhere and the 'yikes eewh' respons from the audiences which were students of junior high school. Some of my friends had no interested to follow the movie until the end, but the rest were so serious and seemed like absorbed everything that came out off from the screen. It was a pretty interesting movie, I thought to myself at that time. There is something in that movie that blatantly and brutally wanted to offer. After the event, we were all sent by the teacher who headed us a gist and a message that, Communism and Indonesian Communist Party is really dangerous. He continued that, Communists are murders, they were all atheists that need to be demolished. For us, he really wished that none of us would not take any steps to even know or learn about Communism, because it same as you wanted to betrayed your God or murtad. We were all in deep and depressing silence.
Years passed, the effect of the propaganda movie called G30S PKI still lingered since the school did the same thing every single year (at that time, I even made a circle that called G30S CMC, standing for our victory on took over a spot on a class). But, it did not long. When I was in senior high school, I was one of three people that in charged on class drama, I made a script and dialogue. The theme was about the effort of Indonesian got freedom over Dutch and Japan. I read a lot of books that relate to the events. I got me sinking too deep of it until I read about G30S PKI, I can not find a logical relation when I asked my teacher why PKI killed the generals, she said it is to replaced Soekarno's position as a president of Indonesia. Wait, so Soekarno just made a Party to demolished himslef??? She just repeated what she said and then left.
The propaganda that New Order regime did had powerful impact to certain generation. My parents are the best example on how Indonesian majority valuing PKI, Communism, General Soeharto, and New Order itself. They taught me that Indonesia has incompetent and unreliable president but Soeharto. 'Indonesia had their best time during his regime' Mom added. The Indonesian majority also agree that the family that accused of being 'communists' needed to be destroyed or even be killed. So, with the propaganda movie called, 'Penghianatan G30S PKI', people who accused had a relationship with PKI for no apparent or logical person, was OK to be killed and or murdered and or demolished, in order they are not treating Indonesian and it's military hero.
The reality is not that it. Oppenheimer on Jakarta Post September 29th wrote that, On Oct 1 1965 six army generals in Jakarta were killed by a group of disaffected junior officers. Soeharto assumed commanding the armed forces, blamed the killings on the leftists (term for Comunists), and set in motion a killing machine. Millions of people associated with the 'leftists' or left leaning organizations were targeted. It made the nation dissolved into terror. Soeharto usurped Soekarno's authority and made him as de facto Presdinet of Indonesia by March 1966. He enjoyed full support from America from the very beginning. We must point it out Soeharto with American support, murdered more that 500,000 people with the hands of Indonesian Army and the civilian squads. The numbers were not including those who were tortured and sent to concentration camps for decades. Within the effect of that propaganda movie, Soekarno had demolished his political enemy under the the term 'communists'. It also include Chinese, rights activists, and union members.
The current president, Jokowi, ever indicated that he would address 1965 massacre, but he has not made any other steps to end military's impunity. it is our turn, the one who ever had a time to rollback and learned the true history of Indonesia, to educate our beloved ones. Today should be a reminder that we must take a time to stop and respect for the lives that has been brutally destroyed, admitting our roles of destruction, and starting the healing process to begin.
