I
have seen quite a few documentaries in my life so far and I am sure I will
continue to do so for a simple reason that the reality is far terrifying than
any horror, thriller, action or drama movies.
I
just finished watching one titled” The act of killing”. A bunch of people had
this brilliant idea of making mass murderers talk/gloat about the tortures they
inflicted on suspected/committed communists and fellow citizens who they
murdered subsequently by various means. The victims ran into thousands or may be
even crossed a million. Perhaps the events in Indonesia in 1965-66 can qualify
for genocide. There are various definitions of the term but if we include
liquidation of political group/s members who have limited or no ability to wage
a war/effective struggle against the group of killers supported by the state
which has all the power, then surely mass murders and liquidation of communists
in Indonesia is a genocide.
The
UN definition of genocide includes the ethnic, racial, religious or even
perhaps cultural groups but political groups are excluded.
The
makers of “The act of killing” interview main murderers who must be in their
late 60s or early 70s now assuming they went on decapitation, evisceration,
strangulation, impaling and raping spree around the age of 20. They called
themselves “gangsters” which, for them and the ruling extant Indonesian
populace interprets as “Freemen”, the men who lived outside of the law, the men
whom were essential for the unity/existence of country in the opinion of
Indonesian government.
The
criminals constituted paramilitary force called “Pemuda
Pancasila” The force still exists and is supported and protected by
Indonesian government even now.
The
“Freeman” Congo, one of the protagonist, dispatched dozens of people a day by
methods mentioned above and took great pride and undiluted joy doing so. In the
documentary he fondly recalls and acts out the scenes with the participation of
present thugs and goons of “Pemuda
Pancasila”. Congo was in his element back in the days and mostly elated
aided by cannabis and booze, but now after half a century he confesses to
having nightmares interestingly about dead people whose eyes he neglected to
close after their life was finished in manners most horrible. He regrets the
omission. He should have closed their eyes. He wouldn’t be having nightmares
now, he figures. Congo is now a grand daddy now both biologically and
politically.
“Pemuda
Pancasila” is still strong in Indonesia.
“There
is no reconciliation” concludes well heeled coworker and colleague of Congo in
1965-66 “because they are all dead”. He does not feel any guilt or remorse.
Congo,
on the other hand finds himself at the better end of epiphany when enacting the
role of victim. He is visibly affected. He retches and vomits. He wonders
whether his victims felt the same when he killed them. One of the off screen
film crew helpfully tells him that they actually felt infinitely worse since
they were actually being tortured and knew that they were about to be killed. A
few tears roll down Congo’s cheeks.
Now
I think there is a nightmarish parallel between Indonesian situation and
present day Gujrat. A few people like Kodnani and Babu Bajrangi are slung but
others are trying claw their ways to the stratosphere of political firmament of
India. The small fish are incarcerated because of central government is Modi
free and so is Supreme Court. The big fish will never be penalized because even
Congress acquiesced for genocide of Sikhs and funny bearded Tytler is still
free.
”The
act of killing” shows the worst because of their in your face admissions of
cruelty and sadism. Present day Sri Lanka, India and other countries at least
put a show of righteous indignation and protest the term ‘genocide’ applied to
their killings and argue for less offensive terms like ‘massacres’ or ‘mass killings’ or simple
‘killings’. Turkey refuses to acknowledge Armenian genocide in early 1900s even
now. Rome has forgotten Carthage and Crete. England would never acknowledge
famines created in India and resulting millions dead. Chinese remember Nanking
and foment jingoistic hatred for Japan but put a lid on Tibet, Xinxiang and
even reeducation/Cultural Revolution. Japan in turn would hardly spare a
thought for purge of Christians in 19 century. Historical poster boys of
genocide are Nazis and Mongols because both are effectively vanished, Nazis as
a political force and Mongolia effectively as a country. Mongolia is almost a
Chinese province. List goes on and hardly mentioned in academia are conflicts
like Maoris and Morioris, neighboring Pacific islanders and probably pre
conquistador South America.
Historically
very few countries are without history of ‘genocide’/‘massacres’/‘mass
killings’/ ‘killings’. The terminology is decided by lawyers and international
clout and then there are ‘collateral damage’, ‘plausible deniability’, ‘non
state actors’, ‘internal affairs’ etc.
Glaring
examples are unaccounted north Vietnamese civilian victims of unrelenting US
bombardments, liquidations of North American native Indians, civilians of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, US backed coups in many a Latin American countries.
According to the US those hells never were created or even if they were, those
were anything but genocide. Mostly it was collateral damage or internal affair.
But Stalin for west was a genocidal paranoid megalomaniac for sure. I can
hazard a guess, Putin disagrees with that somewhere.
Polar
opposite perspectives and posturing are not surprising at all and I think one
should not aspire for universal language, mores, ethics, values, laws and
interpretations of ‘facts’. It has been historical impossibility just like
peaceful and just Nature or God has been.
I
would really like to be wrong.
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