Indonesia’s new history books spook scholars

The Indonesian government’s plans to issue new history books have sparked fears that mention of deadly riots in 1998 targeting mostly ethnic Chinese in the country will be scrubbed from the text.

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The 10-volume account was ordered by the administration of President Prabowo Subianto, an ex-general accused of abducting activists in the unrest that preceded dictator Suharto’s fall, claims he denies.

Scholars fear his government could use the exercise to rewrite history and cover up past abuses.

Draft volume summaries and a chapter outline seen by AFP do not include any specific section on the 1998 violence.

A summary of Suharto’s rule in the volume dedicated to him only mentions how “student demonstrations... became a factor” in his resignation.

“The writing was flawed since the beginning,” said Andi Achdian, historian at Jakarta’s National University, who has seen the outline.

“It has a very strong tendency to whitewash history.”

Suharto ruled Indonesia with an iron fist for more than three decades after grabbing power in the wake of a 1965-1966 massacre.

The culture minister overseeing the government’s history project, Fadli Zon, told lawmakers last week the account “does not discuss May ‘98... because it’s small”.

Neither does it promise to include most of the “gross human rights violations” acknowledged by former president Joko Widodo in 2023.