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Indonesia has delayed plans to publish a set of controversial history books amid backlash from historians and activists who have accused the project of being an attempt to downplay past atrocities, and represents “historical amnesia”.
In May Indonesia’s culture minister Fadli Zon announced the planned release of a 10-volume “official history” project. The set of new books would remove colonial bias, feature updated research, promote national pride and have a “positive” tone, he said.
But the initiative sparked fears the books may omit significant events in Indonesia’s history, including those involving the president, Prabowo Subianto.
The release, initially set for Indonesia’s independence day on 17 August, has now been pushed back to November.
Prabowo, the ex-son-in-law of former dictator Suharto, was dismissed from the military in 1998 amid allegations he was involved in the kidnappings of pro-democracy activists. He has always denied wrongdoing, saying he was acting under orders.
Historians and researchers who have seen early drafts say the new texts gloss over these events, and also appear to downplay and omit major human rights violations, including the killings of up to half a million suspected communists from 1965-6, and mass rapes targeting ethnic Chinese during the riots that led to the fall of Suharto in 1998.
No drafts of the history texts have been released publicly.
The minister did not immediately respond to questions from the Guardian about the history books.
Critics say the new books are part of broader trend of historical revisionism under Prabowo, which include plans to name Suharto a national hero, and officially mark Prabowo’s birthday “National Culture Day”.
Marzuki Darusman, a former Indonesian attorney general turned rights campaigner, said the planned rewrite risked a return to the governance that characterised the Suharto era, when historical narratives were tightly controlled.
He dismissed the culture minister’s idea that the country’s written history should have a “positive” tone. “How can you be positive about these things?” he asked.
Activist Ita Fatia Nadia, described the project as “amnesia history”, saying it was an “attempt to whitewash and cleanse” Indonesian history of rights violations.
Historian and opposition MP Bonnie Triyana criticised what he said was the project’s secrecy, “flawed methodology” and political bias.
In comments to the Indonesian media, the culture minster has defended the process, saying public reviews were held at four universities and more would follow.
The controversy coincides with another flashpoint in the world’s third-largest democracy this month.
Ahead of independence day, when Indonesia’s red and white flag typically adorns streets, offices, schools and government buildings, young Indonesians are instead hoisting black pirate flags in protest.
The movement to fly the “One Piece” or Jolly Roger anime flag is being seen as a critique on the decline of democratic freedoms under Prabowo, including attacks on the press, and the rise of the military in civilian affairs.
Prabowo has said he has no issue with the flag as long as it is not raised above the national flag, but parliamentarians and the police have expressed outrage.
“Young Indonesians have found a unique tactic for political critique – using a pop culture icon deeply embedded in youth culture,” said Dominique Nicky Fahrizal, a researcher from the center for strategic and international studies.
“Indonesia’s democracy is now essentially treading water, if not regressing,” he added, “As authoritarian mindsets and tactics have moved into the mainstream.”
