In Permanent Evolution: An Epilogue

Abstract: Using Pierre Nora's notion (1989) that memory "remains in permanent evolution, open to the dialectic of remembering and forgetting, … vulnerable to manipulation and appropriation, susceptible to being long dormant and periodically revived," this paper demonstrates that memories of Indonesia's anti-communist purge beginning in 1965 continue to fluctuate between remembering and forgetting. While vulnerable to manipulation and appropriation, memories of the purge are also susceptible to periods of dormancy and revival. Against this backdrop, members of the Indonesian civil society attempt to produce "different kinds of memories" of the purge. They pursue the attempts through different kinds of initiatives, including music, art performances, studies on demographic changes, and hosting educational fora. Further research is needed to explore similar initiatives to study how the permanent evolution of the memories of the 1965-66 purge continues to produce negotiation between the purge's different narratives and their respective adherents.