Explosions in Indonesia (2)

Jakarta Kid: 41. BANDUNG CONFERENCE

"Let’s go back to Sukarno, Indonesia’s first president," said Robert, putting down his fork. "It was here that Sukarno held the famous Bandung Conference in 1955. Sukarno wanted Third World countries to be neutral between America and Russia. That displeased the extreme right-wingers in the American government who always want to be the dalang-dalang, the puppet masters. The story goes that the CIA trained some mercenaries in the Philippines and Japan. In 1958 these mercenaries began a series of rebellions in various parts of Indonesia. CIA pilots began bombing Indonesia. They hoped that Moslem separatists would be blamed, that the country would become chaotic and that Sukarno would be toppled." Robert paused while he took a forkful of fish.

"The Americans were the real terrorists?" I said. I was actually rather pleased that fervent Christian Robert was not automatically blaming Moslems for Indonesia’s troubles.

"Sukarno claimed that in 1958 the Americans bombed a church in Ambon in Maluku, killing everyone inside."

"What about proof?"

"What I read was that, back in 1958, a CIA pilot was shot down and captured. That was just a few days after a marketplace had been bombed. The CIA pilot was reportedly carrying documents that showed he was a pilot with the CAT airline, an airline run by the CIA."

"Did this get into the papers?"

"There was a news conference at which the pilot and his documents were shown to the world’s press. But you know what the press are like."

"How do you mean?"

"They are controlled by the powers-that-be."

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