Collective Memory and Political Violence in Post-1965 Indonesia: Narratives from Blitar Selatan on the 1968 Trisula Operation

Abstract

This study explores the collective memory of political violence experienced by the people of Blitar Selatan, Indonesia, during the 1968 Trisula Operation, a military campaign aimed at eliminating remnants of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) following the 1965 anti-communist purge. Grounded in theories of collective memory and state violence, the research investigates how local narratives reconstruct, internalize, and transmit traumatic historical events within a rural community that became a strategic target of counter-insurgency operations under the New Order regime. Utilizing a qualitative approach, the study draws on oral history interviews with elderly residents and retired military personnel who witnessed or were directly involved in the operation. Testimonies were collected from 8 informants across Blitar Selatan between September 2023 and March 2024. The data were thematically analyzed to identify patterns in memory construction, perception of state authority, and the dynamics of fear, silence, and survival. Findings reveal a complex and often contradictory set of narratives that reflect the blurred lines between victimhood, complicity, and resistance. While some respondents frame the military action as necessary to restore order, others emphasize the indiscriminate violence, wrongful targeting, and long term psychological trauma inflicted on civilians. Key themes include the strategic use of local geography for PKI refuge, state-sanctioned relocation of villagers, and the instrumentalization of civic identity under authoritarian rule. Furthermore, the study uncovers how physical and symbolic markers such as oral warnings, code signs, and mass relocations served both to enforce control and to embed fear in collective consciousness. This study contributes to the growing literature on memory politics in Southeast Asia by highlighting how marginalized communities remember and reinterpret episodes of state violence. It also raises critical questions about the role of memory in shaping historical understanding, civic identity, and intergenerational trauma in post-authoritarian societies. The findings underscore the need for inclusive historical narratives that acknowledge the complexity of local experiences and support processes of reconciliation and historical justice in Indonesia.