This is an independent, three part episode, featuring a special guest who lived through the massacres, repression, assassinations, and government upheaval in Indonesia during the tumultuous political period following independence from the Dutch, about which many Americans have not heard. It is our intention that this episode can serve as an oral history source to document these events. This recording was made on April 28th 2017 with the interviewee, Kemal Taruc, and recorded with PhD students James Robinson, Bridget Keown, Jamie Parker, Matt Bowser, and Professor Heather Streets-Salter.
This is Episode II. In this episode, Kemal talks about being a young man being brought up during Sukarno’s overthrow and the resulting military dictatorship under Suharto. He traces his years as a student, his involvement in the resistance movement, and his memories of his comrades. Most notably, he tells the untold story of the political assassination of the Minister of Public Works, who supported his resistance.
For a full transcription of this episode, go here.
The Breaking History podcast is a production of the Northeastern University History Graduate Student Association.
Producers and Sound Editors: Matt Bowser and Dan Squizzero
Theme Music: Kieran Legg
Breaking History Podcast 