More Artifacts At Lubang Buaya

Continuing the PKI purge torture tour with more artifacts at Lubang Buaya.

Main monument, under renovation.

Infamous vehicles section. The Dodge truck used by the kidnappers to gather up the generals. Official car of Ahmad Yani, one of the generals killed on October 1, 1965.

On to the personal effects portion of the tour, actually quite sad. One of the slain general's medals.

Small stuff, eyeglasses and a comb case.

Personal photobook.

Bloody History At Lubang Buaya

Modern Indonesian history is shaped by an infamous event that took place during the early hours of October 1, 1965. The official story is a breakaway faction of the army, under the auspices of Indonesia's communist party, PKI, kidnapped seven generals as part of an attempted coup. They killed the generals, the rest of the army squashed the coup and hellfire against the PKI reigned down for several years after the incident.

The truth? Who knows? The main fuzzy element is how much was PKI involved, if at all, versus becoming a scapegoat on the way to Suharto gaining power. Anywhere from 500,000 to 3 million Indonesians died in the "communist" purge.

There is now a whole complex at Lubang Buaya, the location where the generals were tortured and killed. A monument, a museum with endless dioramas, the actual huts where torture took place.

Right, the torture. There's an elaborate, life-size re-creation of the bloody event.

Supposed command post hut of the PKI rebels. You can walk through the house. Sparse bedroom.

The main living area.

Kitchen. Informative sign. You know the official history is fishy if a seemingly innocuous sign goes out of its way to tell you which objects are real and which ones are replicas. Splitting hairs with an ax.

Back outside at the torture scene, the classic "Viva" pose. Absolutely happened.

National Awakening Museum In Jakarta

A bit of a misnomer. The title of the museum seems to suggest a theme of rising up, independence. In truth, it's more of a lovely place dedicated to its original purpose, a medical school. The Awakening connection has to do with Indonesia's first native political party being "birthed" there in 1908, the Budi Utomo party.

Front entrance. The school is a colonial oasis in busy Jakarta.

The obligatory display of old medical instruments and oddities. Never disappoints.

Super-clean ward.

Anatomy class.  Come on in, the open body is waiting.

Back outside, a series of serene courtyards. Must have been a nice place for learning medicine.