Project 365

Lawan pelarangan buku! Fight against the banning of books!

I’m currently reading Dalih Pembunuhan Massal: Gerakan 30 September dan Kudeta Suharto by John Roosa. This book introduces new evidence about the September 30th Movement (or more commonly G30S), a group of Indonesian soldiers whose action leads to the assassination of six Indonesian Army generals, mass killings around the country, and the transfer of power from Soekarno to Soeharto.  The movement has been described by the Soeharto’s regime as a coup attempt done by the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

Indonesians who lived or grew up during the Soeharto years were required to watch the movie "Pengkhianatan G30S/PKI" on 30 September every year. The movie, which was no longer shown on TV after the fall of Soeharto, was part of a propaganda made by the Soeharto government to convince the public that PKI was the one to blame. After 45 years since the event took place, it is still not clear who the masterminds behind it are. That’s why I’m trying really hard to read the book (again — it has stopped before).

Even though Soeharto is no longer ruling our country, the book is unfortunately banned by the current government for unclear reasons!

The e-book version can be downloaded from here (in Indonesian only). The original English version is called Pretext for Mass Murder: The September 30th Movement and Suharto’s Coup d’État in Indonesia.