NCJ Number
139275
Date Published
1991
Length
32 pages
Annotation
Between October 1965 and March 1966, General Suharto, newly installed military ruler of Indonesia, massacred hundreds of thousands of his own people in a drive to consolidate his power and eliminate the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). Since then, the Indonesian government has perpetrated numerous terrorist acts in Indonesia and against the people of East Timor and West Papua.
Abstract
No country, from West or East, has ever condemned these well-documented terrorist acts, there has been no United Nations condemnation of Indonesia, no one has been charged or tried for participating in these massacres, and the international media have paid little attention to the situation. This article examines the American role in assisting anti-communist efforts in Indonesia, noting that, by the late 1950's, U.S. policymakers were integrating military and economic aid to Third World countries, thereby promoting the military as the leading political force. The author describes the process by which the government of President Sukarno was overthrown, allegedly with the help of the CIA. In 1975, Indonesian troops invaded East Timor; this author contends that Indonesian aggression was condoned by the U.S., United Kingdom, and Australia. He notes that 90 percent of the weapons used by Indonesia was supplied by the U.S. in direct violation of a 1958 agreement prohibiting the use of U.S. arms for external aggression. 85 notes