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Taporal (Tapols-Oral History)

Ibu Sujinah, Ibu Suharti en Pak Kusalah Soebagyo Toer
 
Time period: 1945-2000
Number of interviews: 192
Accessibility: Public (in the course of 2023)
Transcripts: 96 transcripts
Period of interviews: 1992-2000
Medium: Cassette tapes are transferred to digital audio files (WAV)

In the course of 2023, the collection can only be accessed in the reading room or listened to online via a protected environment (password required).
The files are not available for download.

Language: Indonesian

After the 30 September 1965 coup, many Indonesians were killed and thousands were imprisoned on suspicion of communist and leftist sympathies. After returning to Indonesian society, they faced stigmatisation.
The Taporal project started in the 1990s. After years of repression and silence, former political prisoners began writing down their memories of the period after the 30 September 1965 coup, their imprisonment and the years after their release. Others were unable or unwilling to write down their stories. They were asked to record their experiences in an interview. The aim of the project was to record as many life stories of ex-political prisoners as possible to ensure that this part of history would not be (consciously) forgotten. The project received partial funding from the IISH in 1993.

 

The interviews focus on events and experiences in the years 1945 – 2000. They mainly discuss Indonesia. Themes include internment camps, concentration camps, political prisoners, forced labour camps, 30 September 1965 coup, stigmatisation, Suharto regime.

 

Indonesian soldier before executing so-called communist suspects. [Source:  insideindonesia.com]