Neither Truth nor Reconciliation: Why Indonesia’s Army Wants the Country to Forget its Darkest Year

Natalie Sambhi, a research fellow at the Perth USAsia Centre, examines the violence in Indonesia in 1965-66, when an estimated 500,000 people were murdered. The Indonesian army, which instigated the slaughter, continues to prevent the country from reckoning with its bloody past. The impasse between survivors and the military establishment makes it difficult-even dangerous-to take steps toward a national reconciliation.