Indonesia: The Plot that Failed

In May of 1965, at a time when his “Crush Malaysia” campaign was stalled, President Sukarno suddenly and dramatically revealed that he had uncovered an “imperialist plot” against his life and the lives of Foreign Minister Subandrio and Army commander-in-chief General Jani. Sukarno claimed to have documents that would prove his charge, but no one ever got to see them. The documents also revealed, said Sukarno, that if the assassination plot failed the “imperialists” would turn to character assassination and do their best to smear the private lives of himself, Subandrio and Jani. (Since Sukarno’s private life is an international scandal this would not have been particularly hard to do.)

On May 23, Sukarno addressed a Jakarta rally in celebration of the 45th anniversary of the founding of the three-million-strong Indonesian Communist Party. At the rally, Sukarno emphasized the importance of “fighting the phobia toward Communism” that still persisted in Indonesia. He stressed that “the guiding line of the struggle of Indonesia and [Red] China is identical.”

LT

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L. M. Taubinger

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In May of 1965, at a time when his “Crush Malaysia” campaign was stalled, President Sukarno suddenly and dramatically revealed that he had uncovered an “imperialist plot” against his life and the lives of Foreign Minister Subandrio and Army commander-in-chief General Jani. Sukarno claimed to have documents that would prove his charge, but no one ever got to see them. The documents also revealed, said Sukarno, that if the assassination plot failed the “imperialists” would turn to character assassination and do their best to smear the private lives of himself, Subandrio and Jani. (Since Sukarno’s private life is an international scandal this would not have been particularly hard to do.)

On May 23, Sukarno addressed a Jakarta rally in celebration of the 45th anniversary of the founding of the three-million-strong Indonesian Communist Party. At the rally, Sukarno emphasized the importance of “fighting the phobia toward Communism” that still persisted in Indonesia. He stressed that “the guiding line of the struggle of Indonesia and [Red] China is identical.”