Condemn Censorship
of Discussions of 1965
October 25, 2015 -
We strongly condemn intimidation
and threats against those in
Indonesia who are trying to shed
light on one of the worst crimes
of the 20th century. In the past
week, Indonesian authorities
have forced the destruction of a
periodical focused on the
massacres in Indonesia that
began 50 years ago. Officials
also threatened to forcibly
close this year's Ubud Writers
and Readers Festival in Bali
unless events on the massacres
were cancelled. The festival
organizers regrettably agreed.
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Authoritarian regimes
burn books and censor
uncomfortable truths.
However, burning books
can never erase people's
memories. On the
contrary, it draws
attention to events
which the authorities
are so determined to
conceal.
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Beginning
in 1965, with U.S. and
British assistance and
encouragement, hundreds of
thousands of people were killed
and tens of thousands of people
were imprisoned and held without
charge in Indonesia for up to
ten years. Thirteen thousand men
were banished to a remote,
infertile island called Buru,
Maluku, and left to fend for
themselves. Hundreds of women
suffered a similar fate by being
banished to Plantungan in
Central Java. This nationwide
crackdown was condemned by
people throughout the world,
including Amnesty International.
In 2012, the National Human
Rights Commission of Indonesia
published the results of a
four-year investigation into
these killings in several parts
of the country and condemned the
crackdown as a "crime against
humanity." It called on the
Attorney General's Office to
conduct investigations so as to
be able to bring those
responsible to justice. But to
this day, no government in
Indonesia has acknowledged the
fact that millions of its own
citizens were massacred,
imprisoned and tortured. None of
the perpetrators have been
brought to justice.
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These acts of censorship
are grave violations of
freedom of expression,
which is guaranteed in
the Constitution of
Indonesia and
international human
rights treaties to which
Indonesia is a party.
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We strongly condemn the police
in Salatiga for
forcing students at Satya
Wacana Christian University to
burn all the copies of
Lentera. Authoritarian
regimes
burn books and
censor uncomfortable truths. However, burning books can never
erase people's memories. On the
contrary, it draws attention to
events which the authorities are
so determined to conceal.
In Bali, official
threats led to the cancellation
of three panels focused on the
mass killings. A screening of
Joshua Oppenheimer's powerful
documentary
The Look of Silence,
even though his earlier film,
The Act of Killing, was
shown several years ago at the
festival.
"It's almost
like censorship has become
fashionable overnight again," an
organizer of the
12-year-old festival
told the media.
We
applaud the editorial board of
Lentera and the
organizers of the Ubud festival
for their courageous decisions
to draw attention to these
despicable events.
These
acts of censorship are grave
violations of freedom of
expression, which is guaranteed
in the Constitution of Indonesia
and international human rights
treaties to which Indonesia is a
party.
Indonesia's
President Joko Widodo arrives
shortly for a state visit to the
United States. U.S. officials,
media and others should
challenge him on this resurgence
of censorship and other ongoing
human rights violations in
Indonesia.
Carmel
Budiardjo, Founder,
Tapol
(UK)
John M. Miller,
National Coordinator, East Timor
and Indonesia Action
Network (ETAN)
Ed McWilliams,
West Papua Advocacy Team,
former U.S. State Department
Foreign Service officer
David Webster, WPAT
contact: John M. Miller, ETAN,
+1-917-690-4391, john@etan.org
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