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The Sickle and the Cross: Christians and Communists in Bali, Flores, Sumba and Timor, 1965–67

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2009

R. A. F. Paul Webb
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Extract

Over the years much has been written about the so-called attempted Communist coup in Indonesia in 1965. Many of the horrors depicted have concerned Balinese or abangan, nominal Muslims in Central and East Java, but little if anything has been written about the Catholic and Protestant inhabitants of those regions outside Java during the period 1965 and following, and how they coped with Communist activity in their districts. Hitherto there has been little said concerning the Christians' attitude towards the Partai Kommunis Indonesia (PKI) — the Indonesian Communist Party — and few reasons given for some Christians becoming members of this political party. This paper is written to shed a little light on these questions and to analyse the reasons why in more than a few districts of the eastern islands the Communist Party was by no means seen by some Christians as the archetypal enemy of Christianity. This article does not, on the other hand seek to discuss the attempted coup in detail, nor specially reasons for its occurrence or its ultimate failure. Rather it intends to describe how Communism also reacted in the face of Christianity in the islands of Bali, Flores, Sumba and Timor, and how in a few cases, each flavoured, coloured and influenced the other.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Southeast Asian Studies , Volume 17 , Issue 1 , March 1986 , pp. 94 - 112
Copyright
Copyright © The National University of Singapore 1986

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References

1 For information about the 1965 attempted coup and its aftermath see the following amongst others: Crouch, H., “Another Look at the Indonesian ‘Coup’”, Indonesia 15 (1973): 1–20CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Dommen, A., “The Attempted Coup in Indonesia”, The China Quarterly (01–03 1966): 144–70CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Lee, Oey Hong, “Sukarno and the Pseudo-Coup of 1965”, JSEAS VII (1976): 119–35Google Scholar.

2 Mūller-Kruger, Th., Der Protestantismus in Indonesien (Stuttgart, 1968), pp. 366–67Google Scholar. In 1984 the figures for the 1980 Census show the population of Bali as being 2,469,920.

3 These figures have been taken from a paper prepared by the Internal Cathedral Institute for Socioecclesiastical Research, Ende, Flores, 1 Jan. 1969, p.3 — Archives, SVD Ende, Flores. In 1975 the Catholic population of Indonesia was reckoned at 2,800,000 and the number of Catholics in Flores to be 936,000; thus Flores accounts for 33.4 per cent of all Indonesian Catholics. See The Catholic Church in Indonesia (Jakarta, 1975), pp. 27 and 41Google Scholar.

4 Cooley, F.L., Benih Yang Tumbuh XI: Gereja Masehi Injili Timor (Jakarta, 1976), p. 238Google Scholar. This number includes Protestant churches other than the Timor Evangelical Christian Church, although this church is in the majority.

5 The Catholic Church in Indonesia, op. cit., p. 61.

6 Ukur, F. and Cooley, F. L. (eds.), Jerih dan Juang: Laporan Nasional survai menyeluruh gereja di Indonesia (Jakarta, 1979), p. 116Google Scholar.

7 Discussions with Pendeta Nicolaas Hè, Chairman of the Synod Board Gereja Kristen Sumba, Waingapu Sumba Timur, 1980.

8 Hughes, J., Indonesian Upheaval (New York, 1967), pp. 132ffGoogle Scholar.

9 Interview with the ex-prisoner in Jakarta, March 1979; name withheld. Sievers, A.M., The Mystical World of Indonesia (Baltimore, 1974), p. 238Google Scholar, states that the last category, C prisoners were released in 1972 This may be a government/official statement but must be considered suspect in view of the above.

10 Webb, R.A.F., Indonesian Christians and their Political Parties, Southeast Monograph Series No. 2 (James Cook University, 1978), pp. 77–79Google Scholar.

11 Williams, M., Five Journeys from Jakarta (Sydney, 1966), p. 57Google Scholar.

12 The official religions recognised by the Indonesian State are Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Catholicism and Christianity (by which is meant Protestantism).

13 “Indonesia Report 1970” (October) Church Missionary Society, Sydney.

14 Ibid.

15 Interview and discussions with Pendeta Dr I. Wayan Mastra, Chairman, Synod Board of the Gereja Protestan Kristen Bali, at Denpasar, Bali 1979. See also Hughes, op. cit., p. 154.

16 Ibid.

17 Interview with Synod Board Members, GPKB, Denpasar, Bali, 1979.

18 Hughes, op. cit., p. 191.

19 Interview with Mastra, as above.

20 Ibid.

21 Ibid.

22 Discussions with Msgr J. Thijssen SVD, Bishop of Bali/Lombok, Denpasar, Bali, 1979.

23 Brookes, G.F., “The Influences of some Primal Religious Experiences on the Beliefs and Practices of Atoni Christians and their Challenge to the Protestant Evangelical Church of Timor” (M. Th. diss., Melbourne College of Divinity, 1980), p. 85Google Scholar.

24 Discussions with Synod Board Members of the Gereja Masehi Injili Timor, Kupang, Timor, 1980.

25 Brookes, op. cit.

26 For further information on revival movements in Timor in general see Middelkoop, P., Curse, Retribution, Enmity: as Data in Natural Religion Especially in Timor, Confronted with Scripture (Amsterdam, 1960)Google Scholar; Middelkoop, P., “De Geestesbeweging in Noekolo op Timor”, De Heerbaan IV, No. 9 (09, 1965): 244–52Google Scholar. See also Peters, G. W., Indonesian Revival (Grand Rapids, 1973)Google Scholar; Cooley, F. L., “The Revival in Timor”, Occasional Bulletin, Missionary Research Library, New York, Vol. XXIII, No. 10, 26 10 1972Google Scholar.

27 F.L. Cooley, op. cit., p. 346.

28 Brookes, op. cit., p. 85.

29 Cooley, op. cit.

30 Priests and Brothers of the Society of Jesus came to Flores and Timor in 1862, and withdrew in 1912/13 because of old age and the effects of various tropical diseases. See van Aernsbergen, A. J., Chronologisch Oversicht van de Werkzaamheid der jezuïeten in de Missie van Nederlandsch Oost-lndië (Amsterdam, 1934), pp. 113ffGoogle Scholar.

31 The Societas Verbi Divini, the Divine Word Society, was founded in Steyl, Holland by Fr Arnold Janssen in 1875. This missionary Society was attracted to these islands by the generous school subsidies available from the Dutch colonial government.

32 The Catholic Flores-Timor (Welfare) Plan officially began in 1963 although experimental approaches towards a more centralised socio-economic plan had begun in 1957, under the auspices of the Katholiek Sociaál Kerkelijk Instituut, the Catholic Social Welfare Institute in Holland, together with Misereor, the German Catholic bishops' overseas aid department. The aim of the FTP was the raising of living standards amongst all peoples in the islands of NTT through improving their socio-economic development, opening new markets for the new crops it was hoped could be grown. That this date coincided with Sukarno's NASAKOM concept cannot be coincidence.

33 Simon Scaper (Mss), Gerakan Makdok, cited in Muskens, M.P.M. (ed.), Sejarah Gereja Katolik Indonesia, Vol. 3b (Jakarta, 1974), p. 1323Google Scholar.

34 The functions of makdok and dukun are similar to the balian in Hindu-Bali culture: a part-native doctor and part-priest, whose functions owe more to the pre-Hindu culture of Bali than the later Hindu-Bali religion. See Swellengrebel, J. L., Kerk en Tempel op Bali ('s-Gravenhage, 1984)Google Scholar.

35 Simon Scaper, op. cit.

36 Ibid., pp. 1325ff.

37 Discussions with Msgr Th. van den Tillaart SVD, Bishop of Atambua, Timor, 1980.

38 See Harig, F., “Zur Alteren Indonesischen Missionsgeschichte” Zwitschrift fur Missionswissenschafts (und Religionswissenschaft) Vol. 21 (Munster, 1932): 1113–37Google Scholar; B. Visser, Onder Portugeesch — Spaansche Vlag — de Katholieke van Indonesië 1511–1605, cited in Muskens, op. cit., pp. 371 and 396. Onze Missien in Oost en West Indië: Feestnummer 1912–1922. Kolonial Missie-Tijdschift (Stittard, 1922)Google Scholar.

39 Muskens, op. cit., p. 378; Etten, J., “Wermist es zu verdenken…” Pastoralia (Ledalero, Flores, 03 1956): 255ffGoogle Scholar. The Confreria de Rosario still exists and guards its treasures of Portuguese flags, pikes, gold and pearl rosaries and statues of the Blessed Virgin and Holy Child in the (modern) Kapella Maria, Larantuka. Personal visit 1981.

40 See also Piskaty, K., Die Missionsschule in Nusa Tenggara Timur (Süd-Ost Indonesien): ihr gesichtliche Entfaltung und ihre Bedeutung für die Missionsarbeit (Aachen, 1964), pp. 45–50ffGoogle Scholar.

41 It is said that in Flores, even the birds, trees and rocks are all Catholic. Discussion with Drs Franz Seda Jakarta, 1977. Seda, a Florenese, is a past Ambassador to Belgium and former Minister of Plantations under Sukarno.

42 Interviews with Fr Jilles Verheijen SVD Ruteng, Manggarai, Flores, 1979.

43 Interview with Dr Peter Sartono, Rektor, Satya Wacana Protestant University, Salatiga Central Java 1977.

44 Muskens, op. cit., pp. 1253–84.

45 Discussions with students from Manggarai district at Atma Jaya Catholic University, Jakarta, 1979 revealed that this sense of “injustice” is prevalent amongst intellectuals, who ignore the fact that away from the Mission House the missionaries in their parish houses live and eat very simply, if not poorly.

46 Interview with Florenese priest, Ruteng, Manggarai Flores, 1979; name withheld.

47 Interview with Fr Kale Bale SVD of the Yayasan Sesamau, Ruteng, Manggarai Flores, 1980. In particular the tuan tanah within clan society is a powerful figure. As “lord of the earth” he distributes or withholds seed grain and the parcelling out of community land; he has it in his authority to forbid his clan members to participate in new agricultural developments propounded by the Church or the provincial government, and often uses this power, forbidding change.

48 Name withheld on request. Interview in 1980.

49 Ibid. This jaundiced view was given by a priest who has been in west Flores for nearly twenty-five years.

50 Interview and discussions with Fr Heinz Neuhaus SVD Ende, Flores, 1981.

51 Discussions with Fr B.J. Baack SVD Ende, Flores, 1980 and 1981.

52 Gabriel Manek and Carel Kale Bale were the two first Indonesians to become priests and members of the SVD. They were ordained in Ende Cathedral just before the Japanese occupation of the island on 13 May 1942. See Cornelissen, F., Missie Arbeid onder Japanese besetting (uit en dagboek) (Steyl-Tegelen, 1949), p. 18Google Scholar.

53 Discussions with Fr Neuhaus, as above.

54 Ibid.

55 Discussions with trainee-teachers in Ruteng and Ende, Flores, 1980 and with students at Atma Jaya Catholic University, Jakarta, 1979.

56 Personal visit to the old fort on Solar Island 1981.

57 Interview with Fr Romano Genilli SVD, Pamakayo, Solor, 1981.

58 Ibid.

59 Ibid. and discussions with Brother Hugo SVD, Larantuka, Flores, 1981.

60 Ibid.

61 For information on the ancestral cult of marapu and its adat, see Kapita, Oe., Masyarakat Sumba Dan Adat Istiadatnya (Waingapu, Sumba Timur, 1976)Google Scholar; Onvlee, L., Cultuur als Antwoord ('s-Gravenhage, 1973)Google Scholar; Dijk, W. Van, “Het Begripp Marapoe in West-Soemba”, De Macedoniër (1939): 497–516Google Scholar.

62 Correspondence with Ds Pieter Luijendijk, Ermelo, The Netherlands between 1980 and 1981. Ds Luijendijk worked as a Calvinist missionary in Sumba for nearly forty years.

63 Discussions with Ds Luijendijk at Ermelo, The Netherlands, 1980. In a letter from Prof. Dr H. Baarlink, Nordhorn, West Germany, the writer who served in Sumba for twenty or more years, stated that he felt at the time that there was little need for a Communist revolution since the country was in such an economic mess the Communists were being handed it on a plate.

64 Baarlink letter, as above.

65 Discussions with a pendeta of Gereja Kristen Sumba in West Sumba 1980; name withheld.

66 Webb, op. cit., pp. 94—95. See also Notohamidjojo, O., Tanggundjawab Geredja dan Orang Kristen Dang Politik (Jakarta, 1966)Google Scholar.

67 Interview with Bapak I. H. Doko, Kupang, Timor 1980.

68 Interview with Board members and Pendeta Massikh, Chairman of the Synod of Gereja Masehi Injili Timor, Kupang 1980.

69 Interview with Doko, as above. He was the Head of the Dept. of Health, Education, Information, in Timor under the Japanese during the years of occupation and currently is a member of the Board of GMIT.

70 Interview with Dr Sartono, as above. Discussions with Dr T. B. Simatupang, 1977, Working Chairman of the Dewan Gereja-gereja Indonesia, Indonesian Council of Churches. A Protestant Batak from North Sumatra, Simatupang was Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Army at the age of twenty-nine during the Revolutionary period.

71 See Hughes, op. cit., pp. 181 and 185. Also, Mastra, I. Wayan, “The Salvation of Non-Believers: A Missiological Critique to Hendrik Kraemer and the Need for a New Alternative” (Ph.D. diss. Aquinas Institute of Philosophy and Theology, Dubuque, Iowa, 1970)Google Scholar.

72 Interview at Collegio Verbi Divini, Rome 1980 with the Superior General of the SVD, Fr Heinrich Heekeren.

73 Interviews and discussions with Drs Franz Seda, as above.

74 Discussions with academics from the Atma Jaya Catholic University, Jakarta, 1979 and from Nusa Cendana University, Kupang, Timor, 1980. All names withheld.

75 Interviews with Catholic laymen, Ruteng, Manggarai Flores, and Protestant laymen SoE, south-central Timor 1980. All names withheld.

76 Interview with Dr T.B. Simatupang, as above, Jakarta 1979.

77 Interview with Drs Franz Seda, as above. To name but three such high-ranking personalities: General Panggabean, a Protestant Batak, former Chief of Defence of the National Army; Admiral Sudomo, a former Protestant and now a Catholic; General Benny Murdani, a Catholic.

78 Webb, R. A.F., “Christian Interviews in Indonesia”, Kabar Seberang, No. 5/6 James Cook University, 1979, p. 212Google Scholar.

79 Webb, , Indonesian Christians, pp. 57–59, 63–77Google Scholar.

80 Ibid., p. 48.

81 Interview with Pendeta Dr Justin Sihambing, Gereja Kristen Protestan Indonesia (Indonesian Protestant Christian Church), Pematang Siantar, North Sumatra 1979. This statement does not necessarily reflect the pendeta's own views.

82 Interviews with staff and students at Atma Jaya Catholic University, Jakarta, between 1978 and 1981, and students at the Akedemi Teologi Kupang (ATK — Kupang Theological Academy), Kupang, Timor, 1980. It should be noted that none of the above groups have made their statements public.

83 Ibid.

84 See Lee, Ong Hong, Indonesia Facing the 1980's: A Political Analysis (Hull University, 1980), Chapter 4Google Scholar.

85 The printed refutation of the Minister's Decisions, the Second of which gave limited approval to the building of new churches, provided there were no complaints from members of the public, was published jointly by MAWI and DGI in Jakarta, 1979; its full title is: Tinjauan mengenai Keputusan Menteri Agama No. 70 and 77 Tahun 78 dalam rangka Penyelanggaraan Kebebasan Beragama dan Pemiliharaan Kerukunan Nasional (Guidelines concerning the Decision of the Minister of Religion within the framework of the freedom of Religion and Safeguarding National Principles).

86 See Tempo, 23 09, pp. 55–57Google Scholar.

87 de la Costa, H., Readings in Philippine History (Manila, 1965), p. 291Google Scholar. See also McCoy, A.W. & de Jesus, Ed. C. (eds.), Philippine Social History (Sydney, 1982), pp. 112–14, 118–19ffGoogle Scholar.

88 Discussion with Fr H. Bollon SVD, desa Watublapi, Sikka, Flores, 1979 and Bapak I. H. Doko, as above. A number of the murders, said to be anti-Communist which occurred in the district of Sikka and Ngada, Flores, were probably the result of long-held grudges, re-paid without fear of retribution, or suku vengeance during the turmoil of 1965/1966. Similarly, some Chinese who perished in Timor as Communist sympathisers may have been killed by their creditors who thus were able to clear outstanding loans and debts.