Indonesia: Sukarno Loses Power to Suharto

On October 10, according to the New York Times, the Johnson administration expressed belief “that a dramatic new opportunity has developed both for anti-Communist Indonesians and for United States policies following the 10 days of turmoil in Indonesia.” By October 12, according to the Times, “Anti-Communist military leaders supported by Moslem groups were increasing their efforts today to convince President Sukarno that he must ban the Communist party.” And a Times report dated October 13 wrote of Sukarno intending “to create a new Communist party in Indonesia, one that would be exclusively Indonesian and not influenced by Communist China.” On October 14 an anti-Communist Jakarta newspaper accused Chinese intelligence agents of having plotted and financed Untung's putsch. Ethnic Chinese came under attack in Indonesia. And on the 15th more than 5,000 members of Moslem organizations demonstrated, shouting "crush the PKI" and "hang Aidit.”

A murderous campaign against Communists had begun. A report coming out of Singapore on October 23 described Sukarno as threatening to order the army to "shoot to kill" to stop further demonstrations or violence against the Communists. And a report on October 24 described Sukarno as having “accused non-Communist political factions of making some left-wing organizations the "victims of false slander." A force had been unleashed, led by the anti-Communist generals, against which Sukarno had little power.

Through November a slaughter took place across much of Indonesia, including the capture and execution of Aidit. Army officers in league with Untung were executed. Bands of Muslim young men roamed about killing people, sometimes by beheading. Landlords moved to get lands back that had been taken from them in Communist led land-reforms. Old feuds were revived and murderously resolved on the pretext of rooting out Communists. In some instances, anti-Communists arrived in communities, assembled local men and ordered women and children to stay home. Names were read from lists, and they were described as Communists, atheists and people not certified as members of any religion. The named were roped together. Those not roped-off were told that those within the ropes were their enemies. They were given machetes or other crude weapons and told to fight for their religion. Hindus and Buddhists among them were exempted because of prohibitions by their religions against taking life. In other places, soldiers killed with their automatic weapons, often as a distance from their village, the people transported to their deaths in military vehicles. In places victims were ordered to dig their own mass graves.

Often Chinese-Indonesians were targeted, attended by the rumor that the Chinese were the core of Communist leadership. Some of Indonesia’s Chinese began leaving their country. Some others began converting to Christianity to ward off accusations of atheism.

In early 1966, the U.S. ambassador to Indonesia, Andrew Gilchrist, put the slaughter total at 400,000. A Swedish colleague described this as a “very serious under-estimate.” Those killed have been estimated at more than one million, with some others imprisoned.

On April 21, 1966, President Sukarno admonished his ministers not to view him “as a puppet."

On March 12, 1967, Indonesia’s provincial parliament took away Sukarno’s presidential title. Sukarno was put under house arrest, where he remained until his death in 1970. And Suharto was named Acting President.