The current elite in Indonesia came to power by desposing the left-wing nationalist Sukarno and by murdering 2 million people suspected of being members of the Communist Party. It had 1 million members at that time. To this day, the perpetrators of that genocide walk around freely, and are celebrated as heroes for “saving the nation” from the “communist traitors”. There’s a museum which celebrates the genocide of the communists and the purpetrators are often on TV talking about how they murdered the inhabitants of village X or Y because it was a hotbed of communism.
For those who want to learn more about this forgotten history, read The Jakarta Method, a book about the Indonesian Genocide and how it functioned as a model for anti-communists all over the Globe (Guatemala, Chile…) and watch the film The Act of Killing, in this film a couple of participants are asked to reenact their killing of communists for a documentary (which they happely do, and in painstaking detail, because the only feedback they’re accustomed to is praise for their acts) which provides a horryfying insight into the way the killing of our comrades is looked at. It’s basically impossible to watch the film in Indonesia, to quote wikipedia.
it is highly risky to submit The Act of Killing, titled Jagal in Indonesian, to the Film Censorship Board, since the probability of it being banned would mean Indonesians can face charges for watching the film, and allowing paramilitary groups to heckle screenings
But also, isn’t fascism in the rise, in Indonesia?
Just heard something mentioned about that from someone in a live, but didn’t follow through. Did you see anything about it in your daily research?
Fascism or not, I still would support decolonization. Regardless of if the Hindutva government is in power, India’s resources and labor deserves to be its own. Same with Indonesia, no matter how ugly its politics are, etc. And the root of all this evil is always, always the west. Who instigated Islamists and the military junta to overthrow Sukarno and genocide millions? The US, hell, their alphabet agencies and corporations even gave the army hitlists to get them started. Whose divide-and-conquer policies led to such brutal Hindu-Muslim divisions on the Indian subcontinent, and such instability to fan the flames? The Brits and then the US.
Supporting Indonesia in its resource sovereignty is helping create a foundation from which better can emerge in the country- and it is supporting a movement across all the global south at that. And it is striking the truest, worst fascists, the root of all fascists.
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I thankfully don’t know who you’re talking about, but it certainly sounds like typical CIA/NED antics. Personally I hold the west, and particularly the US/UK, entirely to blame for the evils of modern Islamic extremism- they’re the ones who funded and nurtured political Wahhabism, they’re the ones who have slaughtered and continue to try to slaughter the Muslim world’s secularists, who have armed countless jihadis, and their actions have caused such cultural and religious damage in doing so, that I would call it perhaps one of the world’s greatest disasters in regards to religion, beyond the damage of the crusades, inquisitions, and wars of religion, and lesser only than the genocidal extermination of indigenous religions that came with European colonization across the Americas and the global south, which continues to this day.
*edit- nevermind, apparently I do know who you’re talking about (though I never knew his name, simply knew the channel). While I’m not a Muslim, I’ve watched some of his videos and generally had some agreement with them (in regards to his criticism of the west, whether in regards to the genocide in Gaza or the hypocrisy and lies of western “civilization,” “tolerance,” “equality,” etc. with its neoliberal, hyperexploitative society)- it’s shameful to see his actual history and background.
Fair take, thanks.
I don’t really see too much about Indonesia, but I mostly get the impression that the west is freaking out because Indonesia is increasingly pursuing independent policy. Ben Norton just did video discussing this recently https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlAN5-Lk0hw
I think he’s referring to the Suhuarto-aligned president, that is, Prabowo Subianto…
He apparently had some role in the East Timor genocide…
I mean politics in Indonesia haven’t been good since US overthrew the communists there, and pretty much anybody in power will necessarily have links to the previous governments.
Joko Widodo was good tho… Wished we’d had more ppl like him
I see this take a lot here. He was popular with the middle class, but he was essentially a neoliberal who also happened to be a competent administrator. His administration was responsible for massive displacement through bulldozing of slums, and did nothing to help the West Papuans fighting a Suharto-era ecocidal extractive regime on their land.
I can’t blame you for the fact that he was complicit in the West Papuan conflict (specifically in blocking its internet access while it’s being bombed by Indonesian armed forces) but displacing people in slums, I mean, I don’t remember him directly complicit in that necessarily… if anything, he did provide low-income housing?
Different topic, but Jokowi has been big on palm oil exports to the detriment of the environment. He also passed anti-worker and anti-Marxist legislation.
I’ll watch it, thanks!
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
Indonesia is Australia’s Monroe Doctrine
I recall this article from last year.
That’s surprising, coming from an Aussie think tank… compared to the likes of ASPI…
Now and then we do see glimpses of reality buried within western propaganda.
