Indonesian mass killings of 1965–66

A wave of politically motivated killings in Indonesia, chiefly targeting alleged communists and their supporters, that followed the failed 30 September Movement.

30 September Movement: A group of Indonesian military officers who abducted and killed senior generals in Jakarta on 1 October 1965. Its failed action triggered the military campaign used to justify mass arrests and killings.
Indonesian Army: The land warfare branch of Indonesia’s armed forces. Army units organized operations, detention, and the transfer of alleged communists to local forces.
New Order: The authoritarian Indonesian regime led by Suharto from 1967 to 1998. The regime emerged from the crisis and made anti-communism central to state power.
Bali massacre of 1965–66: A major episode of mass killing in Bali during Indonesia’s anti-communist violence of 1965–66. The killings there were exceptionally intense and involved local rivalries as well as anti-communism.
Robert Cribb: An Australian historian whose research examines Indonesian history, including the violence of 1965–66. His scholarship analyzes regional patterns and the challenges of estimating deaths.
Sukarno: Indonesia’s first president, who led the country from independence until his political authority collapsed in the mid-1960s. His balancing of the military and Indonesian Communist Party shaped the crisis before the killings.
Kopkamtib: Indonesia’s military command for restoring security and order, established by Suharto in 1965. It institutionalized military control over arrests and anti-communist operations after the crisis.
Indonesian propaganda film: A 1984 Indonesian state film depicting the 30 September Movement as a communist plot and legitimizing the army’s response. Its annual broadcasts reinforced the official account that framed the killings as justified.
Java: Indonesia’s most populous island, located between Sumatra and Bali. Large-scale killings and mass arrests occurred across Java, where political and religious networks were extensive.
Geoffrey B. Robinson: An American historian who studies Indonesia and political violence in the twentieth century. His work documents military responsibility and the political conditions enabling mass killing.

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