Local Newspapers and Violence in Indonesian Journalism (1965-1975)

This paperdiscusses about hidden violence in Indonesian journalism, particularly localnewspapers that published at Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia. They are“Angkatan Bersenjata”, “Aman Makmur”, “Haluan”, and “Semangat”. In west Sumatra, they are one of many generate of violence with their news and articles about communist party and its follower’s organization. This paper calls it a verbal violence. 

Their news and articles have gone down a lot of abhorrence into the communist, mainly on months before, the episode, and after The Movement of September 30^th. Many words refer to drive the peoples into social’s scream about communist. Atheist, betrayer of nation, killer of Muslims, a social treatment, etc, are idiom that they used. 

For the reader, those idioms have created negative stigma about communist and show them that revenge is a good way to erase the communist party in their land, especially after gloomy period of PRRI (The Indonesia Republic Revolutionary Government) in 1958.

For the Minangkabau people, PRRI is a correction to Jakarta and they feel that they have moral task to remain Jakarta. History of PDRI (The Indonesian Emergency Government) has given them legitimate—wasn’t caused PDRI the republic still exist?—to do it. 

However, PRRI had defeated, and the Minangkabau people becoming discourage by the communist. They hate the communist, but they also fear. The defeat brought them into a deep anger but powerless. In other situation, the traditional leaders (datuak), the mosleem natives, and nationalist local leaders are triumvirate in Minangkabau society, but they have been intimidating by Pemuda Rakyat (Communist Youth Organization). Because of had been beaten, for a lot of Minangkabau people, period of 1958-1965 had driven them to an abhorrence tradition, a tradition of violence to the communist components, but in silence. 

Nevertheless, months before The Movement of September 30^th, physically and verbal violence became solution every conflict between most Minangkabau people and communist in sporadic, yet in the media. Soon Suharto announce to liquidate Communist Party and its component, in West Sumatra local newspapers are also energetic in writing to clear up them and provocation young people to destroy many symbol of communist in town.

In ten year periods (1965-1975), Army and Muslim people whom anti-Communist are vital cause of killing hundred thousand of communist, including in West Sumatra occurred during the cleansing of PKI. And media, local newspapers, has caused the collective action and inspiring local people to become part of the systematic cleansing of the communist with words. For that goal, the media use many dirty words for Minangkabau people selves do not uses in daily. 

Many writings have talked about Indonesian killing in 1965-66, but little has revealed how the local newspapers play an important role on it. Analyzing four contents of local newspapers role in West Sumatra during 1965-1975, I argue the media contributed significantly to resurgence of violence with provocation words into communist.