A Preliminary Analysis of the October 1, 1965 Coup in Indonesia

Jul 6, 2026

Upload by Patrick

Preliminary scholarly analysis of the October 1, 1965 coup attempt in Indonesia, focusing on the genesis, character, and causes of the September 30th Movement led by Lieutenant Colonel Untung. The preface explains why the draft was not previously published and why it is released in full amid frequent misrepresentation by later writers. The introduction outlines the post-coup context, the widespread obscurity about Untung and associates, and the need for factual grounding using press materials and early seminar feedback.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages176

Reading Time7 h 24 min

Preface

Introduction

# A PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF THEOCTOBER 1,1965,COUP ININDONESIA Benedict R.Anderson and Ruth T.McVey(with the assistance of Frederick P.Bunnell) INTERIM REPORTS SERIES Modern Indonesis ProjectSoutheast Asia ProgramCornell UniversityIthaca,New Yock1971 # A PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF THEOCTOBER 1,1965,COUP ININDONESIA Benedict R.Anderson and Ruth T.MeVey(with the assistance of Frederick P.Bunnell) ## INTERIM REPORTS SERIES Modern Indonesia_ProjectSoutheast Asia ProgramCornell UniversityIthaca,New York1971 (C)1971 by Cornell Modern Indonesia Project ## PREFACE Although numerous accounts have been published of thegenesis and character of the attempted October 1965 coupin Indonesia,many important aspects of that affair stii1remain very unclear.The fact that in most accounts somuch of the picture has been painted in black and white,and in language of categorical certainty,has served onlyto paper over the enormous gaps in established knowledgeof the event. During the last few years transcripts of many of thepolitical trials_held in the wake of the coup have beenreleased by the Indonesian government. The quantity isso vast that as yet none of the attempts to reconstruct thecoup has evidenced a careful scrutiny and assessment ofthis material. But although there now exists this_plethoraof trial data,there are other documents of central import-ance which have stil1 not been made public. Thus,bothbecause of the sheer quantity of some of the materials andthe unavailability of others,the task of any scholarlyreconstruction of the events of 1965 remains enormouslydifficult. Nor,of course,has the political climate inIndonesia during the last six years been conducive to dis-passionate research utilizing interviews with_anythinglike a cross-section of Indonesian opinion. It wi1l probably be some time yet before a reasonably comprehensiveand sound analysis can be written. In his present introduction to the paper here published,Professor Anderson describes the circumstances surroundingits preparation and the reasons why it was not previouslypublished.Indeed,because of the avowedly tentative andprovisional character of this early effort,there wouldnormally be no reason to publish it any more than therewould have been to publish the scores of other preliminarydrafts prepared_over the years by scholars working in theCornell Modern Indonesia Project. However,this draft hasbeen given a unique prominence. For it has been singled outby a number of those who have subseguently written accountsof the attempted coup,among whom al1 too many have misrep-resented the authors ideas and cited words or phrases oftheirs out of context. Thus there are special reasons nowfor publishing this draft in its entirety--in fairness bothto the authors and to all those interested in the events of1965--so that readers can make their own assessments ratherthan having to rely upon doctored extracts and tendentiousinterpretations by writers hostile to the hypotheses advancedby its authors. I have found myself.in disagreemerit with of theviews presented in this paper;however,I'befteve thatdespite the limited materials available to the authorsover the few months that they collected and analyzed theirdata,this draft,which they wrote at the end of 1965,contains a number of important insights and a considerableamount of significant data which other writers have nottaken into account.Thus,those interested in understandingthe attempted coup of 1965,particularly if they bear inmind the caveats of Professor Anderson's present intro-duction,should find this paper useful. Over the past few years Mr.Anderson and Miss McVeyhave been engaged in collecting and analyzing the morerecently available materials bearing on the attempted coupwith the object of writing a comprehensive in-depth studyof that event and its background.On the basis of the highlevel of scholarship evidenced in their previous publications,I expect that their study when completed wil1 be the

FAQs

Why was the preliminary analysis draft not published earlier?

The authors describe its explicitly tentative and provisional character, which would normally have discouraged further publication; it was later released because subsequent writers misrepresented the authors’ ideas and cited words out of context.

What challenge does the document highlight in reconstructing the 1965 events?

It emphasizes that much key evidence remained unclear: trial transcripts released by the Indonesian government were vast but not yet carefully assessed, while other crucial documents were still unavailable.

What is the document’s purpose in studying the September 30th Movement?

It aims to develop factual grounding for discussion of the abortive coup, clarify its genesis and historical place in Indonesian political history, and address the obscurity surrounding Untung and his associates.

Jul 6, 2026

Upload by Patrick