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Government reminded to resolve 1965 massacre independently

Jakarta Post - July 27, 2016

Marguerite Afra Sapiie, Jakarta – The National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas) has reminded the government to resolve the 1965 communist purge without the intervention of any external party.

Lemhanas governor Agus Widjojo said on Tuesday that the ruling of the International People's Tribunal (IPT) on the 1965 crimes against humanity (IPT 1965) should be used as a reference, however, Indonesia must maintain its independence in solving the tragedy. "[The ruling] is good to remind officials that we have a debt that we need to pay with our own hands."

He asserted that while the tribunal result would potentially have political repercussion, especially internationally, it was not legally binding for Indonesia as the IPT did not have any official jurisdiction.

Agus, who also served as team chairman of the National Symposium in April, an official event to seek reconciliation for the 1965 mass killings, said the team had submitted the symposium result and was now waiting for the government to take further action to resolve the country's dark past.

With the result announced on July 20, the tribunal found that Indonesia had committed acts of genocide during the mass killings that reportedly claimed half a million lives, most of whom were related to the now-defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/27/govt-reminded-to-resolve-1965-massacre-independently.html.

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