FORBIDDEN MEMORIES WOMEN’S EXPERIENCES OF 1965 IN EASTERN INDONESIA Edited by Mery Kolimon, Liliya Wetangterah and Karen Campbell-Nelson FORBIDDEN MEMORIES An electronic version of this book is freely available, thanks to the support of libraries working with Knowledge Unlatched. KU is a collaborative initiative designed to make high quality books Open Access for the public good. More information about the initiative and links to the Open Access version can be found at www.knowledgeunlatched.org. is work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) which means that the text may be used for non-commercial purposes, provided credit is given to the author(s) and that no alterations are made. For details go to https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. FORBIDDEN MEMORIES Women’s experiences of 1965 in Eastern Indonesia Edited by Mery Kolimon, Liliya Wetangterah and Karen Campbell-Nelson Translated by Jennifer Lindsay Originally published as Memori-Memori Terlarang: Perempuan Korban & Penyintas Tragedi ’65 di Nusa Tenggara Timur. NTT: Yayasan Bonet Pinggupir, 2012 (ISBN: 978-602-99955-1-0) Authors: Mery Kolimon, Dorkas Sir, Adriania Tiluata, Erna Hinadang, Petronela Loy Bhoga, Martha Bire, Golda M. E. Sooai, Welys Hawu Haba- TaEdini, Elfrantin J. de Haan, Fransina Rissi, Paoina Bara Pa, Dorkas Nyake Wiwi, Yetty Leyloh, Irene Umbu Lolo, Dina Penpada, Ivonne Peka, Anna Salukhfeto and Liliya Wetangterah Forbidden Memories: Women’s experiences of 1965 in Eastern Indonesia Edited by Mery Kolimon, Liliya Wetangterah and Karen Campbell-Nelson Translated by Jennifer Lindsay © Copyright 2015 All rights reserved. Apart from any uses permitted by Australia’s Copyright Act 1968, no part of this book may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the copyright owners. Inquiries should be directed to the publisher. Monash University Publishing Matheson Library and Information Services Building 40 Exhibition Walk Monash University Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia www.publishing.monash.edu Monash University Publishing brings to the world publications which advance the best traditions of humane and enlightened thought. Monash University Publishing titles pass through a rigorous process of independent peer review. www.publishing.monash.edu/books/fm-9781922235909.html Design: Les Thomas Cover photograph: © Indah Pascalia Radja. The photograph was taken at Getsemany Sikumana Church building, near Kupang, on 3 November 2013. Series: Herb Feith Translation Series National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry: Title: Forbidden memories : women’s experiences of 1965 in Eastern Indonesia / Mery Kolimon, Liliya Wetangterah and Karen Campbell-Nelson, editors ; Jennifer Lindsay, translator. ISBNs: 9781922235909 (paperback) 9781925523843 (Knowledge Unlatched open access PDF) Subjects: War victims--Abuse of--Indonesia--Personal narratives. Women--Abuse of--Indonesia. Women--Crimes against--Indonesia. Indonesia--History--Coup d’état, 1965--Personal narratives. Other Creators/Contributors: Kolimon, Mery, editor. Wetangterah, Liliya, editor. Campbell-Nelson, Karen, editor. Lindsay, Jennifer, 1951- translator. Dewey Number: 959.8036 Contents List of Illustrations ..........................................viii Acknowledgements ...........................................ix About the Herb Feith Translation Series .........................xii About the Editors ...........................................xiii Foreword ..................................................xv Rev. Dr. Andreas A. Yewangoe Foreword ..................................................xx Rev. Elga Sarapung Introduction Forbidden Memories: Women Victims and Survivors of the 1965 Tragedy in Eastern Indonesia ..........................1 Mery Kolimon Part I ...................................................21 Chapter 1 State Destruction of Sabu-Raijua Women Teachers .................25 Paoina Bara Pa and Dorkas Nyake Wiwi Chapter 2 The 1965 Incident and Female Activists in the City of Kupang ........74 Nela Loy Bhoga, Martha Bire, and Golda Sooai Chapter 3 There is a Gulf Between Us: The 1965 Events, the Destruction of Family Relationships and the Pastoral Role of the Church in East Kupang ...............................................92 Welys Hawuhaba-TaEdini, Elfrantin de Haan, and Fransina Rissi Chapter 4 The 1965 Incident and the Women of South Central Timor’s Fight for Identity ...........................................111 Dina Penpada, Ivonne Peka, and Anna Salukhfeto Chapter 5 Widows Fight Against Injustice in Alor .........................150 Dorkas Sir, Erna Hinadang, and Ina Tiluata Part II .................................................175 Chapter 6 Victims of the 1965 Tragedy: Sinners? ..........................179 Yetty Leyloh Chapter 7 The 1965 Tragedy in East Sumba: History from Victims’ Perspectives ...............................................213 Irene Umbu Lolo Chapter 8 The 1965 Incidents through the Eyes of GKS Missionaries ..........231 Liliya Wetangterah Epilogue Start with the Victims: The Meaning of the 1965 Tragedy for Contextual Theology and Pastoral Action in NTT ..........................244 Mery Kolimon Glossary. 275 Appendices ............................................279 Appendix 1 Chronology of Events in Selected Areas of NTT ..................279 Appendix 2 Chronology of Two Cases ....................................288 Appendix 3 List of Human Rights Abuses. 299 Appendix 4 Efforts to Source Secondary Data ..............................329 Appendix 5 Tools for 1965 Victims’ Advocacy ..............................337 Appendix 6 Biodata of Research Team Members ...........................339 Bibliography ..............................................347 List of Illustrations 1. Map of Nusa Tenggara Timur province ........................xxiv 2. Hanga Loko Pedae, Mab’ba (Seba): Massacre site .................24 3. Map of Sabu-Raijua ........................................27 4. Former home of a Communist Party leader in the village of Rae Loro used as a detention centre for Gerwani women and women accused of being Gerwani .............................................44 5. The yard of a house beside the Seba police station where on the night of the massacre of 29 March 1966, the people were ordered to watch a film about development ....................................60 6. Tegid’a, the women’s house in a customary village in Sabu ..........65 7. Merdeka Stadium (Freedom Stadium), Kupang City. Female detention centre ............................................73 8. Old Prison, Kupang. Male detention centre. .....................83 9. Document. On 29 October, 1966, the Military Resort Command 161 decided that Pak Nyongki Ndili and other colleagues should be freed from detention and from suspicion .............................87 10. Behind Oesao Market: Execution and mass burial site .............91 11. One of at least seven known graves for the 1965 massacre victims in Tanah Putih, East Kupang ................................100 12. The old East Kupang Sub District Head’s office, where Nona Asmi was interrogated ..........................................104 13. Naismetan Forest, subdistrict of Mollo Tengah: Massacre site ......110 14. Barrcks where victims from various places were detained and tortured ..............................................129 15. The Imanuel Congregation worship hall in the village of Kombaki, subdsitrict of Polen, which was used as a place of torture ...........137 16. One of the execution sites in Kolbebe, village of Bena, subdistrict of South Amanuban .......................................139 17. Tanjung Sembilan, sub district of Teluk Mutiara (in 1965 the sub district name was Alor Barat Laut, or North West Alor): Execution site .....149 18. Isolated forest in Alor Kecil where, in February 1966, the army killed around 200 people ....................................159 19. Army (Puterpra) office building in Kalabahi, Alor where women were detained, forced to work and were sexually abused ...........163 20. Rua Beach, West Sumba: Massacre site ........................177 21. Mananga Beach, Mamboro, where seven people were Executed on 5 May 1966 ............................................189 22. Notes from Synod XXI meeting of GKS in Ede, 1967 ............202 23. Torture site. The old prison in Melolo, District of Rindi Umalulu, East Sumba ..............................................217 24. The old wharf. One of the execution sites in East Sumba. 226 Acknowledgements Firstly, and most important of all, we wish to express our sincere thanks to the informants who agreed to share their stories with us, and even agreed for them to be published so they could be shared with a wide public. The church and the nation are in their debt. If Indonesia wishes to be cured, if the churches want to be healed from the collective trauma that still hinders the path of this nation moving towards the future, then one way is to listen and respond to the valuable stories of women and their children. When members of our research team were wrestling with understanding this sensitive issue, and seeking ways to better prepare themselves with appropriate research methods, we received valuable input from our friends: namely Pak Putu Oka from the Institute for Human Creativity (LKK) in Jakarta, Th. J. Erlijna from the Indonesian Institute for Social history (ISSI) in Jakarta, and Galuh Wandita from the International Center for Transitional Justice,