The BBC World Service has fascinating series entitled Tiger Tales, which explores several important events in 20th century Asian history. The first episode of the series, Year of living dangerously, deals with the turbulent year of 1965 in Indonesia.
In 1965, plotters attempted a coup against President Sukarno, abducting and assassinating six military generals. The Communist Party, the PKI, was accused of staging the coup. The response was brutal. "It was a slaughter the CIA describes as one of the worst mass murders of the twentieth century. Unlike other crimes against humanity in the twentieth century, this is a story never fully told, the perpetrators never fully exposed" As General Suharto consolidated the grip of power, a nationwide campaign against the Communists turned into a massacre.
An ironic assessment since the CIA was closely linked with Suharto throughout his three decade rule over the country.
It is believed that as many a million people were slaughtered in the 1965 massacres, some claim even more. This would put it on a scale comparable to Rwanda. But since the purported enemies were allegedly communists, little was reported other than vague references to "civil war" and "turbulence."
I have to admit being surprised by this report. I'd known Suharto was a crook; he was widely regarded as one of the world's most corrupt leaders. I'd also known of the brutal 1975 invasion of East Timor, which some claim then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was informed of but did not object to. But I didn't realize that so many people were massacred in just one year.
Another of the great Cold War victories in the name of 'freedom.'
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