14/07/2025

MONDAY | JULY 14, 2025

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New history books spook Indonesian scholars

‘Australia will not commit troops in advance’ SYDNEY: Australia will not commit troops in advance to any conflict, Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said yesterday, responding to a report that the Pentagon has pressed its ally to clarify what role it would play if the US and China went to war over Taiwan. Australia prioritises its sovereignty and “we don’t discuss hypotheticals”, Conroy said in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “The decision to commit Australian troops to a conflict will be made by the government of the day, not in advance but by the government of the day,” he said. The Financial Times reported on Saturday that Elbridge Colby, the US under-secretary of defence for policy, has been pushing Australian and Japanese defence officials on what they would do in a Taiwan conflict, although the US does not offer a blank cheque guarantee to defend Taiwan. Colby posted on X that the Department of Defence is implementing President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda of restoring deterrence, which includes “urging allies to step up their defence spending and other efforts related to our collective defence”. China claims Taiwan as its own and has not ruled out the use of force to bring it under its control. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te rejects China’s sovereignty claims, saying only the Taiwanese people can decide their future. Australia’s largest war-fighting exercise with the United States, involving 30,000 troops from 19 countries, opened yesterday at Sydney Harbour. Conroy said Australia was concerned about China’s military buildup of nuclear and conventional forces, and wants a balanced Indo Pacific region where no country dominates. “China is seeking to secure a military base in the region and we are working very hard to be the primary security partner of choice for the region because we don’t think that’s a particularly optimal thing for Australia,” he said, referring to the Pacific Islands. Security is expected to be on the agenda when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets China’s leaders. He arrived in Shanghai on Saturday for a six-day visit. The Talisman Sabre exercise will span 6,500km, from Australia’s Indian Ocean territory of Christmas Island to the Coral Sea on Australia’s east coast. Conroy said it was possible China’s navy would be watching the exercise to collect information, as it had done in the past. The United States is Australia’s major security ally. Although Australia does not permit foreign bases, the US military is expanding its rotational presence and fuel stores on Australian bases, which from 2027 will have Virginia submarines at port in Western Australia. These would play a key role in supporting US forces in any conflict over Taiwan, analysts say. – Reuters

The furore around the project has caused some opposition lawmakers and critics to call for its suspension or cancellation. Activist Maria Catarina Sumarsih, whose son Bernardinus Realino Norma Irmawan, was killed in a military crackdown after Suharto’s fall, accused the writers of warping the past. “The government is deceiving the public, especially young people,” she said. Others said documenting Indonesia’s past was best left to academics. “If the government feel this nation needs a history that could make us proud, it can’t be through the government’s version of historical propaganda. It should be the result of the work of historians,” said Marzuki.” – AFP

events, with the draft outline just a “trigger for discussion”. Officials say the new historical account is needed to strengthen Indonesian identity, but warned that any omission about its darkest past would raise eyebrows over objectivity. “What is feared is that

would be a public debate “this month”, without elaborating. The project involves 113 academics, including historians. But at least one of them has resigned. Archaeologist Harry Truman Simanjuntak said he quit in a dispute over language – the term “early

JAKARTA: Indonesian government’s plans to issue new history books have sparked fears that mention of deadly riots in 1998 will be scrubbed from the text. 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 the fallof dictator Suharto (pic) , 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 1965-6 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. Jajat Burhanudin, a project editor, contradicted Fadli and dismissed concerns, telling AFP the new volumes would include 1998 o 1998 riots left out of draft summaries The

the cases that have been accepted by the previous government to be resolved will be ignored,” said Marzuki Darusman, a former attorney-general and head of a civil society coalition opposed to the volumes. While it remains unclear how the government plans to use the books, Jajat said the volumes could be used as “one of the main sources” for history books taught in schools. Neither historian Susanto Zuhdi, who is helming the project, nor the presidential palace responded to requests for comment. The revisionist history garnered renewed scrutiny after the culture minister questioned whether mass rape had occurred at the end of Suharto’s rule. “Was there really mass rape? There was never any proof,” Fadli told local media in an interview last month. “If there is, show it.” A 1998 fact-finding report, commissioned by Indonesia’s first president after Suharto, found at least 52 reported cases of rape in the unrest. “This project risks erasing uncomfortable truths,” said Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia. Fadli said the nation-building project would go ahead despite criticism. “The consensus (is) we continue,” he said. “This is an updated version of our history,” he added, saying there

history” was used instead of “prehistory” for Indonesia’s ancient civilisation. Fadli told lawmakers the phrase was avoided because it was created by Indonesia’s former Dutch rulers. But Harry said it showed the political influence over the text. “It was very obvious that editors’ authority did not exist. They were under the control of the government,” he said.

Maria, whose son was killed in the 1998 Semanggi tragedy, standing in front of the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on July 3 to demand justice. – AFPPIC

Hanoi to ban fossil-fuel motorcycles from inner city HANOI: Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has ordered Hanoi to ban all fossil fuel motorcycles and mopeds from the city’s inner Ring Road 1 from July 1 next year, as part of a sweeping new effort to address worsening pollution. including Hanoi, according to Vietnam News Agency. At times, Hanoi’s air quality has ranked among the worst in the world and pollution in its rivers has exceeded safe limits for years. next June. A broader plan will follow. By Jan 1, 2028, all motorcycles and mopeds will be banned from both Ring Roads 1 and 2, with restrictions on private petrol-powered cars. From 2030, the ban will include Ring Road 3. Cambodia marks heritage listing of Khmer Rouge sites PHNOM PENH: Cambodia held ceremonies across the country yesterday to celebrate Unesco’s recognition of three former Khmer Rouge locations as World Heritage sites, honouring their transformation from centres of repression. Penh and M-13 prison in Kampong Chhnang province were inscribed as “Cambodian Memorial Sites: From centres of repression to places of peace and reflection” during a Unesco meeting in Paris on Friday. “This is a model for the world, showing the long struggle of Cambodia, reconciliation, the spirit of national unity, finding justice for the victims and building peace,” said interim Culture Minister Hab Touch. The Khmer Rouge sites mark Cambodia’s fifth World Heritage listing, and is the country’s first modern-era nomination and among the first globally tied to recent conflict. The sites are a stark reminder of The ban is part of a directive on environmental protection, outlining urgent steps to address severe air and water pollution in major cities, To clean up the capital’s air, Pham has instructed the Hanoi People’s Committee to roll out a roadmap to eliminate fossil-fuel motorcycles and mopeds within Ring Road 1 by Alongside the ban, Hanoi must publish a low-emission zone plan by the third quarter of this year and The Tuol Sleng prison and Choeung Ek killing fields in Phnom

launch a citywide awareness campaign to prepare residents for the change. The directive also urges local authorities to upgrade public transport, prioritise electric buses and trains and develop infrastructure for clean-energy vehicles, including charging stations and maintenance services. – Bernama the atrocities committed under the Pol Pot regime from 1975 to 1979, during which an estimated 1.7 million to 2.2 million people died, many from starvation, torture or execution. The Tuol Sleng prison, which held approximately 15,000 prisoners, is now a genocide museum. – Reuters