Thirty years ago a bungled coup in Indonesia by a small number of left-wing officers led President Sukarno and the army general staff to begin the savage and systematic slaughter of the Indoneslan Communist Party (PKI). The party had three million members and genuine mass support. Yet by the time the massacres had subsided hundreds of thousands of them had been slaughtered, thousands more imprisoned and the party all but destroyed as a political force. So many bodles were thrown into the rivers that they became a serious health problem. Piles of communist skulls were dumped in villages to set an example. SIMON KENNEDY looks at the background to the tragedy of the PKl. THE PARTA/ Kommunis Indonesia (PKJ) did not fail to take power beause the conditions of Indonesian society were not surteu to a revolutionary overthrow of capitalism. They did not find themselves brutally massacred because their organisation was too weak.
The primary factor in the destruction of the party was its mistaken understanding of the strategic problems facing revolutionaries in "Third Workd" countries.
The mistakes proved fatal.
Fundamental in the PK's strategy was the idea of the "democratic national revolution. Their activity was di rected Criticas support and close collaboration with all those forces who were in favour of this policy.
The movement for democratic revolution was thereTOTe up overwhelmingly of peasants and workers. But key to the PK's strategy was the winning of those elements of the bourgeoisie who were opdalism — the layers who were frustrated by "bureaucratie capitalism" and the role of foreign powers.
They believed that the advance to socialism had to go first through the stage of European-style modern capitalism. This analysis had long been the position of the "official" communist movement. Throughout the 1950s and throughout the world pursued the model.
In South Africa, for example. it has provided the backbone oi te sAur s analysis The basic idea underlying this model was that the revolution and role of workers parties in underdeveloped countries must be "bourgeois-democratic" rather than socialist - it must establish modern capitalist and democratic states The problem with this cheme of developmest lies in Sano one ons and constitution".
De IXTy hage party a ing Sukaro.
in the 1955 elections they won 16.4 per cent of the vote and in 1965 probably enjoyed the support of half the popuWhile the bureaucracy clear that. in contradiction to the KI's analysis, the nationtons, no national economy alists had no interest in a was built. The integration and genuine extension of popular balance the PKI hoped for did sovereignty. They favoured instead what they politely 18S be seconds Me. man Rights Campaign reports that twenty four remain in prison, three on death row.
There have been 22 executions of 1965 prisoners ploiting the poorer peasantry. The nationalists refused to allisations noeded to cement the worker-peasant alliance.
Moreover, the front placed hacked the nationalists. the more they nad to Dass trie new capitalism that was systematically eroding their living STuaru The small bourgeoisie in which the PK! had put its hopes tured out to be a lot less terstonobaty than it pran nad suggesica. Decause it was so hampered by the strength of imperialism, so politically weak and irresolute the "national bourgeoisie failed to become the leadership the party had expected.
It was unable to establish the anti-feudal, anti-imperialsary to build a natronal economy. Its commitment to "bourseois democracy was ansubsiantae. Ano it was quil happy to come to a new deal with imperialism.
Contrary to both the Moscow and Peking line, it proved entirely possible to build a post-colonial capitalism with a repressive state and a do. Tesc oases For hundreds of thousand of PKi activists. these errors were of the most costly nature possioic.
"democratic revolu. tion". strategy failed completely. Sukarno was sidelined (eventually dying under house arrest in 1970) and a new military regime took the reins of power. The party was proscribed and the army and right-wing gangs set about the systematic butchering of the party's membership.
The same dictatorship. headed by General Suharto, is still in power 30 years later. brutally repressing the work ers of Indonesia and East Timor. • Olle Tonquist's book Dilemmas of Third World Communism: the destruction of the PKI in Indonesia, (Zed Press 1984) provides an excellent account and analysis of the tragedy of the PKL.
Fighting on ...
since 1985.
Justice Minister Utoyo Usman told the Java Pos newspaper that two political prisoners would be executed before the year was out.
Contact The Indonesian
Human Rights campaign at: 111 Northwood Road. Inornton medun, surtey bhi 8HW. Telephone: 0181 771
SOCIALIST OUTLOOK No. 80, March 25 1995, Page 7.