Mahfud Md Says Govt Won't Apologize to Victims of 1965-66 Massacres

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud Md said at the inaugural meeting with political exiles in Diemen, the Netherlands, that the state will not apologize to the victims of the 1965-66 massacres.

“The New Order regime had already been forced to step down. So to whom should we apologize?” Mahfud said before dozens of Indonesians who were rendered stateless abroad during the 1965-1966 anti-communist purge, on Sunday, August 27, 2023. “We all suffered under the New Order regime.”

Mahfud and Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly made history by holding the first face-to-face meeting with Indonesian exiles who have lived abroad for more than half a century after their citizenship was annulled after September 1965.

Mahfud's statement was in response to a question from Sungkono, an exile living in Amsterdam. “[The government has confessed such a big sin, why isn't it accompanied by an apology? This is my demand,” said the 84-year-old man who was studying in Moscow during the incident.

In response, Mahfud said, “The regime has been punished, so it's finished.”

During the two-hour meeting, Mahfud said that his visit was ordered by President Joko Jokowi Widodo to discuss the government's non-judicial policies in resolving cases of past gross human rights violations.

“This policy is for the existing victims. We will fulfill their constitutional rights,” he remarked, adding that the judicial process is still going on, although it may take longer.

Minister Yasonna assured that the government would give "special treatment" to the exiles –most of whom now hold passports from other countries– who wish to visit Indonesia. “We’ll provide free multiple-entry visas for a period of five years,” he said. He symbolically handed over the visa to Sri Tunruang, an Indonesian exile who attended the meeting from Germany.

Although most of the exiles expressed their appreciation for the arrival of the delegation of high-ranking officials from Jakarta, some stressed that the victims needed more than "gifts" such as visas, said Sungkono.

Ratna Saptari, chairperson of Watch 65, an association of Indonesian activists and exiles in the Netherlands, recalled that the victims' experience had never been part of Indonesia's history. “Are they really traitors to the country? Rectifying history is crucial,” Ratna emphasized.

Watch 65 was also involved in organizing the meeting between the exiles and the high-level officials.

Mahfud explained, “It is not the duty of the state to determine history.” Yet he assured that the government would provide funds for historical research. “Please do the research, both the pros and cons. But the result will not be the state's view,” he said.

Hundreds of Indonesians – mostly students, but also diplomats and government envoys – who were abroad during the G30S incident in 1965 have had their citizenship revoked. Those considered leftist sympathizers or disloyal to the New Order regime lost their passports.

Earlier this year, President Jokowi officially expressed regret over 12 incidents of gross human rights violations in the past, including the 1965-66 massacres.

“I have sympathy and empathy for the victims and their families. So the government and I will restore the rights of the victims fairly and wisely without negating the judicial resolution,” Jokowi said in a speech at the Jakarta State Palace, on Wednesday, January 11, 2023.

TEMPO.CO

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