Indonesia bans dozens of revisionist history textbooks; could 'cause public disorder'
"What do you know about the G30S (September 30th movement)?" The Jakarta Post asked an 11th grader at state elementary school No. 3 in Setiabudi, South Jakarta, on Tuesday.
"Oh, you mean the PKI (Indonesian Communist Party)?" asked Baby Zahwa, who had just finished her history exam.
"Hmm, the G30S," the Post replied.
"Yes, the PKI," Baby insisted, launching into an explanation most probably rote learned from her history textbook.
History textbooks have always referred to the movement as the G30S/PKI. No questions asked.
Or at least that was the logic the Attorney General's Office applied when it decided to ban dozens of history books written by prominent historians that no longer insist that the GS03 was a rebellious movement that sought to replace Sukarno's government with a Communist one.
Following months of investigation, Junior Attorney General for Intelligence Affairs Muchtar Arifin told reporters last week that his office had banned, as of March 5, the textbooks, which have been used in schools and universities since 2004.
The books not only failed to state the facts but challenged some "accepted truths", which could create public disorder, the Supreme Court announced...
Its latest decision to ban 13 books released by a number of publishing houses, and any other textbooks that express the same views, is based on a 1963 decree and a 1969 law on published materials that could cause public disorder.
Read entire article at Jakarta Post (via UCLA Asia Institute)
"Oh, you mean the PKI (Indonesian Communist Party)?" asked Baby Zahwa, who had just finished her history exam.
"Hmm, the G30S," the Post replied.
"Yes, the PKI," Baby insisted, launching into an explanation most probably rote learned from her history textbook.
History textbooks have always referred to the movement as the G30S/PKI. No questions asked.
Or at least that was the logic the Attorney General's Office applied when it decided to ban dozens of history books written by prominent historians that no longer insist that the GS03 was a rebellious movement that sought to replace Sukarno's government with a Communist one.
Following months of investigation, Junior Attorney General for Intelligence Affairs Muchtar Arifin told reporters last week that his office had banned, as of March 5, the textbooks, which have been used in schools and universities since 2004.
The books not only failed to state the facts but challenged some "accepted truths", which could create public disorder, the Supreme Court announced...
Its latest decision to ban 13 books released by a number of publishing houses, and any other textbooks that express the same views, is based on a 1963 decree and a 1969 law on published materials that could cause public disorder.
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The future is history (Jakarta Post editorial)