How the UK incited the mass murder of Indonesian Communists in the 1960s.

[planetgeli]

Described as one of the biggest and most brutal massacres of the post-war era, shady FO actors and GCHQ implemented black propaganda to 'cut out the Communist cancer' (Indonesia then had the largest Communist Party in a non-Communist country).

The result was hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of deaths, torture and imprisonment - and Suharto.

Slaughter in Indonesia: Britain’s secret propaganda war

Declassified documents reveal how in 1965 a dirty tricks arm of the Foreign Office incited massacres that left thousands dead

www.theguardian.com

Revealed: how UK spies incited mass murder of Indonesia’s communists

Newly declassified papers show shocking role played by Britain in slaughter

www.theguardian.com

 

[BristolEcho]

Thanks!

 

[alfajobrob]

Shame they weren't Welsh communists tbh.

 

[yield]

Spoiler: JAGAL (The Act of Killing) - 2012 documentary

Sickening.

 

[petee]

39 years ago

The Year of Living Dangerously (film) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[bendeus]

Shame they weren't Welsh communists tbh.

WTF?

 

[planetgeli]

Little bit of a follow up from Sukarno's daughter. This line stood out.

The American strategy in toppling my father was so successful that the US government later replicated it in Chile under the codename “Operation Jakarta”.

Britain owes an apology to my father and millions of other Indonesians | Kartika Sukarno

The daughter of the Indonesian president responds to our story about the propaganda war waged against him

www.theguardian.com

 

[SpackleFrog]

I'm reading this at the moment. It's very good, would recommend.

The Jakarta Method: Washington's Anticommunist Crusade …

The hidden story of the wanton slaughter -- in Indonesi…

www.goodreads.com

 

[ska invita]

WTF?

alfa-edgelord-rob

 

[Dystopiary]

Shame they weren't Welsh communists tbh.

Prick.

 

[AmateurAgitator]

I saw this in documentaries years and years ago. It's nothing new.

 

[planetgeli]

I saw this in documentaries years and years ago. It's nothing new.

It happened in the early 60s so to that extent it's nothing new. But the declassification of documents is new. Indonesians who were affected and are now speaking up is new. Pamphlets that are now being uncovered showing targeting Indonesian ministers that were written covertly by the British spy machine are new. Stop being flippant. These people are acting now and want an apology. And that would be fucking new as well.

More.

UK’s propaganda leaflets inspired 1960s massacre of Indonesian communists

Pamphlets attacked the president and foreign minister

www.theguardian.com

 

[AmateurAgitator]

It happened in the early 60s so to that extent it's nothing new. But the declassification of documents is new. Indonesians who were affected and are now speaking up is new. Pamphlets that are now being uncovered showing targeting Indonesian ministers that were written covertly by the British spy machine are new. Stop being flippant. These people are acting now and want an apology. And that would be fucking new as well.

More.

UK’s propaganda leaflets inspired 1960s massacre of Indonesian communists

Pamphlets attacked the president and foreign minister

www.theguardian.com

Fair enough.

 

[ska invita]

It happened in the early 60s so to that extent it's nothing new. But the declassification of documents is new. Indonesians who were affected and are now speaking up is new. Pamphlets that are now being uncovered showing targeting Indonesian ministers that were written covertly by the British spy machine are new. Stop being flippant. These people are acting now and want an apology. And that would be fucking new as well.

More.

UK’s propaganda leaflets inspired 1960s massacre of Indonesian communists

Pamphlets attacked the president and foreign minister

www.theguardian.com

Every time something like this arises (ie new information comes to light etc) its a really great chance to bang on about it and make it common knowledge. An apology is next to meaningless in the scheme of things but the opportunity to make the British establishment squirm is well worth it.
I think the history of imperialism and colonialism is a great way to radicalise people, its been cheering to see the growing emphasis on it in the last decade - absolutely driven by "identity politics" it should be said, and I point that out as a good thing.

That Jakarta Method book has done well I gather, and yeah while theres little be cheerful about in British politics I think awareness of imperialism is a lot higher for this generation coming through, and that hopefully builds a good platform for anti-capitalism in general - hopefully that link can be made.

 

[Pickman's model]

Every time something like this arises (ie new information comes to light etc) its a really great chance to bang on about it and make it common knowledge. An apology is next to meaningless in the scheme of things but the opportunity to make the British establishment squirm is well worth it.
I think the history of imperialism and colonialism is a great way to radicalise people, its been cheering to see the growing emphasis on it in the last decade - absolutely driven by "identity politics" it should be said, and I point that out as a good thing.

That Jakarta Method book has done well I gather, and yeah while theres little be cheerful about in British politics I think awareness of imperialism is a lot higher for this generation coming through, and that hopefully builds a good platform for anti-capitalism in general - hopefully that link can be made.

Yeh that link can be made but so rarely is - the way governments are assumed to have primacy in terms of motivation - that governments act on their own initiative rather than that of corporations. Eg Britain went to war with X rather than certain commercial interests felt themselves threatened and prevailed upon the government to take action. The corporations often seen as operating in a different sphere. Whereas we here all know about the us toppling the Guatemalan government because of United fruit, the East India company in India, the opium wars, etc etc.