Guerrillas, Guns, and Knives? Debating Insurgency in South Blitar, East Java, 1967–68
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The essay provides an account of the South Blitar episode in Partai Komunis Indonesia (PKI) history, during which alleged members of the PKI hid from the military in South Blitar, where they were later pursued, and sometimes captured or killed, in a counterinsurgency operation by the Army and paramilitary forces. The paper relies on a combination of interviews, contemporary military documents, court records, and other sources to study this episode. It demonstrates how the Suharto-era narrative of these events continues to politicize the historical accounts of both the insurgency and the military response, and how this politicized narrative has shaped the impressions and memories of former political prisoners and heightened social divisions within this group.