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Government Calls Back Newly Released Book Detailing U.S. Role in Deadly Anti-Communist Purge





WASHINGTON (AP) - The government on Friday scrambled to call back all copies of a State Department history that details the U.S. role in Indonesia's deadly purge of communists in the 1960s. In a diplomatically embarrassing case of terrible timing, hundreds of libraries across the country are stocking the recently released history of American officials' secret support for the anti-communist campaign that undermined the rule of Sukarno, Indonesia's founding president. Sukarno's daughter became the country's new leader this week. The State Department blamed the Government Printing Office for issuing the book without approval from State, but the GPO said it had gotten clearance from State in April. "We did not inadvertently release this history," said GPO spokesman Andrew Sherman. "Only within the last two weeks have we been contacted by the State Department" and "every now and then an agency will say, 'There is a problem with a document, can you pull it back.' That's what we have been in the process of doing over the last several days - talking to the State Department and finding a way to ask the libraries to take those books off the shelves," said Sherman. The State Department said that it discovered this month, before the internal process of deciding when to release the volume was completed, that the printing office had begun distributing copies. "We asked the Government Printing Office not to sell any more copies because the process was not yet complete and no release date set," said a State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity. The National Security Archive, a private group specializing in national security issues, said the CIA had tried to suppress the history. The text of a four-page CIA memo from then-Far East Division Chief William Colby is deleted in its entirety. The history identifies the source and date of the memo. Colby, who later became CIA director, died in 1996. The CIA memo is dated the day after a State Department cable contained in the history spells out a U.S. plan to funnel tens of thousands of dollars to a group bent on the destruction of the Indonesian Communist Party. "This is to confirm my earlier concurrence that we provide Malik with fifty million rupiahs requested by him for the activities of the Kap-Gestapu movement," says a Dec. 2, 1965, document from the American ambassador in Indonesia to William P. Bundy, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs from 1964 to 1969. "The chances of detection or subsequent revelation of our support in this instance are as minimal as any black bag operation can be," the document concluded. Of the Gestapu, the ambassador's document said, "This army-inspired but civilian-staffed action group is still carrying burden of current repressive efforts targeted against the PKI," a reference to the Indonesian Communist Party that was allied with Sukarno. In a message to Washington dated April 15, 1966, the embassy acknowledged: "We frankly do not know whether the real figure" of communists who have been killed "is closer to 100,000 or 1,000,000 but believe it wiser to err on the side of the lower estimates, especially when questioned by the press." Adding detail to revelations of over a decade ago, the volume also points out that the U.S. Embassy supplied lists of top communist leaders to the Indonesians who were trying to destroy the PKI. The history quoted from an airgram from the embassy to the State Department saying that an embassy-prepared list of communist leaders "is apparently being used by Indonesian security authorities who seem to lack even the simplest overt information on PKI leadership."

1 Posted on 07/27/2001 17:49:42 PDT by rdavis84

To: rdavis84

OH good. If they can do it there then, they can do it here at home where it will do the most good.

2 Posted on 07/27/2001 18:27:22 PDT by Khepera

To: rdavis84

In a message to Washington dated April 15, 1966, the embassy acknowledged: "We frankly do not know whether the real figure" of communists who have been killed "is closer to 100,000 or 1,000,000 but believe it wiser to err on the side of the lower estimates, especially when questioned by the press."

In other words, they will just lie and hope they don't get caught or trapped in their web of deception.

3 Posted on 07/28/2001 03:27:34 PDT by Black Jade

To: rdavis84

I suppose it depends on what is means, in "is closer to 100,000 or 1,000,000." [sarcasm]

4 Posted on 07/28/2001 03:57:56 PDT by Black Jade

To: Black Jade

"I suppose it depends on what is means, in "is closer to 100,000 or 1,000,000." [sarcasm] "

Doesn't matter. There's plenty of those Oriental Folks. Our guys would probably inflate the Body Count anyway. < / sarcasm >

They do come across as pretty Cavalier, don't they?

5 Posted on 07/28/2001 04:43:22 PDT by rdavis84

To: rdavis84 Black Jade ... BTTT ... sawdring LSJohn hopalong covenantor

6 Posted on 07/28/2001 08:57:33 PDT by Askel5

To: rdavis84, Askel5, thinden, Fred Mertz, OKCSubmariner, BlueDogDemo, Uncle Bill

Rush to the library and steal this book! :>)

7 Posted on 07/28/2001 11:25:13 PDT by LSJohn

To: LSJohn

"Rush to the library and steal this book! :>)"

Had the same thought, but our library is more into National Geographic, stuff like that.

8 Posted on 07/28/2001 11:48:47 PDT by rdavis84

To: rdavis84

SMSU?

9 Posted on 07/28/2001 13:37:02 PDT by LSJohn

To: LSJohn

"SMSU?"

:-) You got it! How'd 'ya know?

BTW, all the nekkid natives been cut out of 'em. No reason to even check 'em out.

10 Posted on 07/28/2001 15:15:48 PDT by rdavis84

To: rdavis84

BTW, all the nekkid natives been cut out of 'em. No reason to even check 'em out.

ROFLM mf AO

11 Posted on 07/28/2001 16:59:38 PDT by LSJohn

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.