20/05/2025

TUESDAY | MAY 20, 2025

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Concern over new Indonesian history books

19 missing in Papua gold mine landslide

JAKARTA: Rescue teams were searching for 19 people missing after heavy rain caused a landslide at a gold mine in its easternmost region of Papua, officials said yesterday. Torrential rain triggered a landslide late on Friday in a small mine run by local residents in the Arfak mountains in West Papua province, said Abdul Muhari, the spokesperson of Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency. The landslide hit temporary shelters used by the miners and killed at least one person and injured four,with 19 others still missing. At least 40 rescuers, with police and military personnel had been deployed to search for the missing, officials said. Small-scale and illegal mining has often led to incidents in Indonesia, where mineral resources are located in remote areas in conditions difficult for authorities to regulate. The rescuers started the search operation only on Sunday because it took at least 12 hours for teams to travel to the site, said Yefri Sabaruddin, the head of the local rescue team. “The damaged roads and mountainous tracks as well as bad weather hampered the rescue efforts,”Yefri said. At least 15 people died in the collapse of an illegal gold mine in West Sumatra province in September last year after a landslide caused by heavy rains. Another landslide in a gold mine on Sulawesi island killed at least 23 people in July last year. – Reuters HANOI: A landslide following flash floods in a mountainous area of northern Vietnam has killed four people. The landslide occurred early on Sunday in Ba Be district of Bac Kan province following torrential rain on Saturday. “A very big (noise, like an) explosion was heard from the top of the mountain. Then soil, rock and water poured down from the mountain,” said local official Tieu Xuan Tai, adding local residents had been aware of a 2m-wide crack on the top of the mountain that appeared several years ago. Provincial authorities have issued warnings to the public, and called for immediate safety checks for communities along streams, rivers and other areas vulnerable to landslides. Forecasters said rain in the area had been higher than normal this month and further downpours were expected in northern and central areas. – AFP FLORES VOLCANO TRIGGERS HIGHEST ALERT JAKARTA: Indonesia raised the alert level of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki to the highest after it erupted eight times over the weekend, its volcanology agency said. The volcano on Flores island in eastern Indonesia, spewed volcanic ash between 3km and 5.5km high on Sunday, said agency head Muhammad Wafid. Images showed clouds of thick grey ash billowing from the crater. Rumbling noises with low to high intensity were heard from the nearest monitoring post during the eruption, Wafid said. The volcano erupted again on Monday, belching 1.2km high ash clouds. The agency said a 6km radius from the crater must be cleared and warned the residents of the risk of cold lava flow from the crater in the event of heavy rains. – Reuters FOUR KILLED IN VIETNAM FLASH FLOODS

o Govt to have no editorial role, reassures minister

history of humankind in Indonesia from homo erectus to Dutch colonisation to Prabowo’s election. They will be authored and edited by about 100 historians and Fadli says he wants them ready by Aug 17, Indonesia’s Independence Day. Made Supriatma, a visiting fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, said he believes the government will use the same playbook as Suharto, who released a six-volume book series in 1975 titled The National History of Indonesia that he said glorified the military and was fraught with inaccuracies. “Prabowo’s history within this republic is not good, to be frank. Do they dare to write that?” said Made. Jajat Burhanuddin, a historian involved in the project, said there has been no state intervention. The 1998 kidnappings and torture of student activists would be included, he said, although he declined to say whether Prabowo would be mentioned in those accounts. Another key focus for historians will be how the books portray the mass killings of communists and sympathisers in 1965 and 1966, led by military and Islamic leaders. Some historians estimate more than half a million people were killed. No investigation has been conducted into the killings, which were in response to the murder of generals by the communist party in an abortive coup. – Reuters

activists during riots in 1998 – allegations he has repeatedly denied and which Fadli said had been debunked. Asvi Warman Adam, a leading historian who used to work at the National Research and Innovation Agency, said he was calling on academics to lobby lawmakers to scrutinise what he said would be “propaganda”. “I suspect there is an intention to legitimise the ruling regime ... such as by excluding gross human rights violations in 1998 linked to Prabowo,” he said, adding that he expected the government would soon confer the posthumous title of “National Hero” on Suharto. On concerns by some analysts and historians that the books could be used as propaganda, be politicised and omit rights abuses that have been linked to Prabowo and Suharto, Fadli said: “History will be written correctly.” The president’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the new books. Prabowo has previously said that former activists were his supporters. Fadli, who has authored a book that defended Prabowo’s actions as a special forces commander during Suharto’s 32-year rule, added that neither he nor Prabowo would be involved in the editorial process. The books, which Fadli said were commissioned last year, will chronicle the

JAKARTA: The Indonesian government’s plan to release new history books has sparked

concerns that some of the country’s darkest chapters could be recast to show President Prabowo Subianto and late authoritarian ruler Suharto in a favourable light. The 10-volume series would have an Indonesia-centric narrative and aims “to reinvent the Indonesian identity”, said Culture Minister Fadli Zon (pic) . Several historians said the commissioning of the books presents

an opportunity for historical revisionism at a time when younger generations, largely responsible for Prabowo’s resounding election victory last year, have little or no memory of Suharto’s 1966-1998 New Order era. Prabowo openly praises Suharto, who was once his father-in-law, and is increasingly turning to the military to carry out his government’s vision. Prabowo has also been accused of rights abuses while in the military, including involvement in the kidnapping of student

BR I E F S

Prabowo and Paetongtarn greet each other in a traditional manner before their joint news conference. – REUTERSPIC

Bangkok, Jakarta announce strategic partnership BANGKOK: Thailand and Indonesia have agreed to elevate their bilateral relationship to a “Strategic Partnership”, aimed at strengthening cooperation across various sectors. cooperation,” he said in a statement. Thailand and Indonesia aim to reinforce Asean unity and resilience amid growing global geopolitical and economic uncertainties. The exchange of the MoU was witnessed by Prabowo and Paetongtarn, and signed by Thai Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin and Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Sugiono.

Thai government spokesperson Jirayu Huangsub said the agreements were the outcome of bilateral talks between Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at the Government House yesterday. He said the move reflects a shared commitment to deepening bilateral ties and advancing collaboration. “Key areas of cooperation include political and security cooperation, economic cooperation, food and energy security, tourism, public health and education, and international

This marks Prabowo’s first visit to Thailand since assuming office in October last year, and the first official visit by an Indonesian president to Thailand in 20 years. He took part in a comprehensive bilateral dialogue under the inaugural Leaders’ Consultation, an initiative proposed by Thailand to promote regular meetings between national leaders and accelerate cooperation. Jirayu said Thailand and Indonesia also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen bilateral ties and enhance cooperation in public health.

“The MoU aims to improve collaboration in public health across areas such as primary healthcare systems, communicable disease control, medical supply security, healthcare financing and health tourism,” he said. Both countries trace their relations back to King Chulalongkorn’s visit to Java in 1871. “This visit marks a significant milestone as the two countries celebrate the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations.” He said Paetongtarn expressed gratitude for the friendship extended by Prabowo and looked forward to visiting Indonesia. – Bernama