D. N. Aidit | |
|---|---|
 Portrait,c. 1963 | |
| Deputy Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly | |
| In office 15 September 1960 – 1 October 1965 | |
| President | Sukarno |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | See list
|
| Member of theHouse of Representatives | |
| In office 4 March 1956 – 5 July 1959 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Legislature disestablished |
| Constituency | Central Java |
| General Secretary of the Communist Party of Indonesia | |
| In office January 1951 – 22 November 1965 | |
| Deputy | |
| Preceded by | Alimin |
| Succeeded by | Sudisman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ahmad Aidit (1923-07-30)30 July 1923 |
| Died | 22 November 1965(1965-11-22) (aged 42) Boyolali, Indonesia |
| Cause of death | Summary execution[1][2] |
| Political party | Communist (PKI) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 5 |
| Parent(s) | Abdullah Aidit Nyi Ayu Melani Aidit |
| Education | Middestand Handel School |
Dipa Nusantara Aidit (bornAhmad Aidit; 30 July 1923 – 22 November 1965)[3] was an Indonesiancommunist politician, who served as General Secretary of theCommunist Party of Indonesia (PKI) from 1951 until his summary execution during themass killings of 1965–66. Born onBelitung Island, he was nicknamed "Amat".
Aidit was born Achmad Aidit inTanjung Pandan, Belitung, 30 July 1923. He was the first son of four. His parents wereAbdullah Aidit and Mailan.[4] Achmad and his siblings studied at Hollandsche Inlandsch School.[5]
In early 1936, Achmad asked his father to continue his studies inJakarta (then called Batavia). Achmad then attended Middestand Handel School, instead of Meer Uitgebreid Lager Onderwijs, because the registration had already been closed. For three years he lived inCempaka Putih with his father's colleague. He moved toSenen and lived with his brother Murad who followed in Achmad's footsteps. Unwilling to rely on money sent by their parents, Achmad and Murad tried to earn money themselves.[6] In those times, Achmad was an active as member of Persatuan Timur Muda, underGerindo (Indonesian People's Movement), led byAmir Sjarifudin andAdnan Kapau Gani, and later became the chairman. Achmad also changed his name to Dipa Nusantara, which was shortened as D.N. and was often mistaken for Djafar Nawawi, to conceal his descent which was at first, rejected by his father.[7]
During theJapanese occupation, in Asrama Menteng 31 D.N. Aidit and his friends received political lectures fromSukarno,Hatta, Amir Sjarifudin,Achmad Subardjo, andKi Hajar Dewantoro.[8] There, in 1943, Aidit first metM.H. Lukman. They were members of Gerakan Indonesia Merdeka while Aidit as the chairman of political council of the organization and Lukman as his member. In 1944, they were elected as the member ofBarisan Pelopor Indonesia, the 100 men who were most loyal to Sukarno.[9] About one year beforeIndonesian independence, Aidit, M.H. Lukman, Sidik Kertapati, Chalid Rasjidi, and the other young men studied politics at Asrama Kemerdekaan founded by Rear AdmiralMaeda and headed byWikana.[8]
In early September 1945, Angkatan Pemuda Indonesia was formed. Aidit was appointed as the chairman of API section Jakarta Raya.[10] On 5 November, Aidit, Alizar Thaib, and the other API member attackedKoninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger's post but eventually were arrested. They were then exiled toOnrust island. After seven months, Aidit and Lukman were released.
After released, Aidit and Lukman went toYogyakarta to meet Wikana.[11][12] In Yogyakarta, Aidit and Lukman ran the bimonthly magazine,Bintang Merah. There, they metNjoto, PKI's Banyuwangi representative.[13]
In March 1947, Aidit was appointed as chairman of a PKI faction in aKNIP meeting. In early 1948, Aidit, Lukman, and Njoto were assigned to translateThe Communist Manifesto into Indonesian. In August, the three became members of the Central Committee, respectively responsible for land affair, agitation and propaganda, and relation to other organizations.[13] The three andSudisman became members of the new PKI Politburo formed byMusso on 1 September 1948.[14] Aidit was responsible for the labor section of the party.[15] Aidit and Lukman managed to escape to China and Vietnam after PKI position was pressed inMadiun Affair, while Murad claimed that Aidit took shelter inTanjung Priok.[14][16] While in hiding, Aidit and Lukman reranBintang Merah on 15 August 1950. They also publishedSuara Rakjat two weekly. In January 1951, Njoto joined the latter.[17]
After the 1948 affair, the four young members of the Politburo, Aidit, Njoto, Lukman, andSudisman replaced the old leaders in January 1951 as a result of the fifth congress of the party. Aidit was appointed as the secretary general of the party, which was later renamed as chairman, while Njoto and Lukman as his deputies.[18] The PKI led by Aidit was not only based on laborers and plantation workers, butalso farmers and peasants.[19] During theAugust 1951 mass arrests of communists, Aidit went into hiding with Njoto and Lukman, while thousands of the party's members and leaders were detained without charge.
Though aMarxist, Aidit submitted toSukarno'sMarhaenism[20] policy and allowed the party to grow without any overt intentions towards power. In return for his support of Sukarno, he rose to the position of Secretary-General of the PKI.
Under his leadership, the PKI began to change its strategy from a party that had rebelled in 1948 to one that was at the forefront of implementing real programs to help the people. The PKI was involved in education programs, especially those based on community groups, such asPemuda Rakyat,Gerwani,Barisan Tani Indonesia (BTI),Lekra, and others. The PKI's education programs were actually far more successful in educating illiterate workers and farmers than underfunded state schools or private Islamic boarding schools. The PKI was more than just a political party with an economic agenda: it represented a social and cultural revolution.[21]
During the1955 general election campaign, Aidit and the PKI drew a large following. In the next decade, the PKI became a leftist rival to conservative elements among the Muslim political parties and the Army. By 1965, the PKI had become the largest political party in Indonesia, and the third largest communist party in the world after theSoviet Union andChina.
In 1958, he held a film convention festival under PKI name to support Indonesian film stars and was attended by several artist, such asNun Zairina,Gordon Tobing, andBing Slamet, to contribute their talent during the festival.[22] Minister of EducationPrijono also attended the event and gave a speech which invited to pay more attention to the Indonesian film industry as an important aspect in building morals in society.[22]
Anattempted coup occurred on 30 September 1965, which was later officially blamed on the PKI (seeTransition to the New Order). On 2 October, Aidit went to Yogyakarta to meet the regional PKI chairman Sutrisno.[23] After a few hours, Aidit moved to Semarang also to consolidate to the party officials in the region. The meeting concluded that the coup was the Army's internal problem and PKI knew nothing about it. In the afternoon of that day, Aidit went toBoyolali to meet Boyolali regent Suwali who was a PKI member. Aidit then went to Solo to meet the mayorUtomo Ramelan who was also a member. The meeting contradicted the conclusion of the meeting inSemarang.[24] Several Politbiro members including Aidit and M. H. Lukman met inBlitar on 5 October. There Aidit wrote a letter of the PKI view of the coup which was read by Njoto during a cabinet meeting inBogor.[25]
Aidit then fled to Boyolali, where he was captured by forces loyal to GeneralSuharto.[3] According to Zulkifli and Hidayat, on 22 November Aidit was arrested by a search party led by Colonel Yasir Hadibroto in a house in Sambeng Village,Solo.[26] In the early morning, he was brought to Boyolali and was summarily executed as part ofthe bloody 1965/66 anti-communist purge. The military claimed Aidit had confessed to plotting the coup. Officials at the U.S embassy doubted this, as his alleged statement referenced a document they knew was disseminated as part of anti-communist propaganda operation.[27] The body of Aidit is believed to be at the bottom of an old well. Another version of the story suggests that Aidit was blown up along with the house where he was being held.[1][2][28][29]
According to Ricklefs, Aidit thought that "Marxism was a guide to action, not an inflexible dogma".[19] Aidit sympathized withMusso'sJalan Baru untuk Republik Indonesia (A New Road for Indonesian Republic), though he stated that theMadiun Affair was just "children's games".[30]
Some of his writings were published asThe Selected Works of D.N. Aidit (2 vols. Vol. I JPRS-6551; Vol. II JPRS-8886; Washington: US Joint Publications Research Service, 1961).
Aidit gained a negative stigma and reputation as a symbol of evil in the Indonesian society, due to the perceived atrocities during and violence during theMadiun affair and theThirtieth of September Movement committed by the Communist Party under his leadership.[citation needed] The 1984 filmPengkhianatan G30S/PKI further strengthens this stigma.
In 2024, Alvino Kusumabrata[clarification needed] considered two of his booksLahirnja PKI dan Perkembangannja (1955) andMasjarakat Indonesia dan Revolusi Indonesia (1957) as the best book about views of communism that are not contaminated by the narrative of theNew Order.[31]
Aidit married Soetanti in early 1948.[32] Aidit's second son, Ilham, was born on 18 May 1959 in Moscow.[33]
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