The 50th anniversary of Indonesia’s 1965 anti-communist purges which killed 500,000 gets public airing despite authorities’ moves to enforce silence
If the Indonesian authorities hoped to silence conversation about the 50th anniversary of the country’s anti-communist purges that killed an estimated 500,000 people in 1965, their 11th-hour curbs on the Ubud writers’ and readers’ festival failed spectacularly.
Amid the bright floral garlands, free yoga sessions and Bintang beer bottles that dotted 38 venues across Bali’s self-styled “cultural capital”, politics hung heavy in the humid air. The year of 1965 wasn’t so much the elephant in the room as the monkey, popping up wherever it could to add punch and bite to the debate.
By banning @ubudwritersfest sessions on 1965, authorities have ensured that 1965 is by far the most discussed topic at #uwrf15.
Related: Indonesia's 1965 genocide: writers rebel as authorities cancel festival events
Refusing to be censored at #uwrf15@andreasharsonopic.twitter.com/L271mMIJ9L
Related: Indonesia is burning. So why is the world looking away? | George Monbiot
Related: It is 50 years since the Indonesian massacre of 1965 but we cannot look away | Laksmi Pamuntjak
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