The Jakarta Method: the USA Anti Communist Movement & the Mass Murder Program that Shaped Our Today’s World (Vincent Bevins, 2020)
“I hate imperialism. I detest colonialism. And I fear the consequences of their last bitter struggle for life. We are determined, that our nation, and the world as a whole, shall not be the play thing of one small corner of the world” ― Soekarno
The opening quote from Soekarno that criticises imperialism & colonialism above is what he said in the Bandung Conference, 1955. The conference members were newly independent countries in the continents of Asia & Africa. They try to seek strength from each other & network as they were once colonised by the First World countries. Having a new spirit of independence, they have the same dream that is being free from any form of colonisation & becoming an independent country as a whole. Even from this conference, Indonesia, represented by President Soekarno, became the pioneer of non-block movement amidst the Cold War between the USA (capitalism) & Russia (communism).
The Jakarta Method is a political history book written by American journalist & author, Vincent Bevins. It mainly discusses the USA’s government in supporting, planning & guiding some parties from various countries to eliminate communism by doing mass killings. The title of the book is a reference to Indonesian mass killings in 1965–1966. It is estimated that during 1 year, 1 million people were killed as an effort to destroy the political left & movements for government reform in the country. This book has been translated into 17 languages, including Indonesia.
As Indonesia gained independence, this new country seeks political ideas on how to reform the country to be the best it can be. So that, the society can live a better life after decades living under the colonisers. The first President of Indonesia, Soekarno, is a nationalist, populist, & islamist. He welcomes any political ideas that highlight the struggle of ordinary people or marginalised people. Since most Indonesians are marginalised, that’s why he always tries not to leave out the prosperity of all layers of society in the country. As Bhinneka Tunggal Ika said, “unity amid diversity”.
President Soekarno’s political ideas were coined as NASAKOM. It comprises Islam, communism, and nationalism. Moreover, Indonesia had the largest communist party (PKI) among the non-communist world after its 2 rulers, Russia & China. The PKI had three million card-carrying members. The data has shown that most Indonesians favour communism, because the ideas offer elevated the life of marginalised people, which mostly Indonesians are marginalised. However, according to Bevins, some of the communist values that were held by PKI figures were different from its rulers. For example, Indonesian communists see “communism” as a way to gain equality for marginalised people such as farmers & labourers in the field of economy, social, & politics with the elites.
Mostly, people misinterpret that those who don’t believe in communism, would likely be killed by its followers. In fact, according to the first-hand experience data told by Bevins in this book, show that the victims of Indonesian mass murder in 1965–1966 were mostly marginalised people who were helped by PKI to gain works in a factory (labourers) or accept funding to do farming by PKI (farmers). Some of them even did not know that those who helped them to find workplaces & help were PKI activists. They did not plan any bad things that would endanger them or even the peace in their own country. Moreover, most of them did not even know what “communism” is. But, they were killed anyway.
This story is very ironic. I did not know any alternative story behind the mass murder in Indonesia in 1965, except those written in textbooks & documentaries that communists were evil. Nevertheless, from this book, I gain a new perspective on who the real puppeteer behind this tragedy is. This alternative perspective is not a groundless plot. However, Bevin realised that the almost same mass murder patterns strategies were found in other third world countries such as Brazil & Chile. In addition, Bevins also provides the readers with the documents archived by the official governments and academic researchers around the world to implement his argumentation about the genocidal strategies implemented by the USA.
In short, this book explains the subsequent replications of the mass murder strategy against government reform & economic movements in Latin America, Asia, and elsewhere. The killings in Indonesia assisted by the American-backed Indonesian forces were so successful in destroying communism & economic movements that the term “Jakarta” was later used to refer to the genocidal aspects of similar later plans implemented by other capitalist regimes with the assistance of the USA.
Now, the question is, who is the winner of the Cold War? It is obvious now from the world we live in today, that the USA which holds capitalism ideas has won the war. It can be seen in the economic fields that the US dominates the markets around the world by opening a lot of restaurant franchises such as McDonalds, KFC, and so on. Not to mention the fashion industry, pop culture, movies, and so on. World society sees Hollywood as the centre of the pop culture & industry.
In my opinion, this is an excellent political history book! It is well-researched & tightly written, thus the readers manage to piece together events that are relatively unknown outside of academic or activist circles. Moreover, the book also excels at tracing the patterns on how genocide in Indonesia echoed through future anti communist actions in other countries in subsequent years. Last but not least, I highly recommend those who like to study about history & politics to read this. I also warn the future reader to be ready in unravelling the shocking truth behind the 30 September 1965 tragedy in Indonesia, along with anti communist movements around the world.
References:
_____. (2020). Tinjauan-Resensi The Jakarta Method — Vincent Bevins / Metode Jakarta : Amerika Serikat, Pembantaian 1965, dan Dunia Global Kita Sekarang.
Hasan, R. (2022). BOOK REVIEW: THE JAKARTA METHOD BY VINCENT BEVINS. Youth Policy Forum.
https://ypfbd.org/book-review-jakarta-method/
Wikipedia. (2023). The Jakarta Method.
