The Petrus Killings refers to a series of executions in Indonesia between 1983 and 1985 under Indonesian President Suharto's New Order regime. Three to ten thousand criminals were executed without trial and their bodies disposed in public places. The killings caused terror amongst a population that was unaware of why these people were being executed.[1] Overall, the executions were part of a government effort to reduce crime and the actual death toll or extent of the killings remains a mystery today.
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The term petrus was derived from the Indonesian acronym containing the words "mysterious shooters" (penembak misterius) or "mysterious shootings" (penembakan misterius).[2]
Suharto came to power in 1967 and created his New Order policy to separate his regime from what he called the Old Order or his predecessor Sukarno's policy. The new policies brought much change to Indonesia, including a stronger, more influential military. This often leads to violence and the Petrus Killings stand as one of the most outrageous examples.[1]
In the early 1980s, citizens in Indonesia were becoming accustomed to seeing scattered dead bodies in public places but soon began to wonder the reasoning behind some deaths. At first, the government and other security authorities would not reveal the cause or reason behind the deaths. Commander of Indonesia's Armed Forces, General Leonardus Benjamin Moerdani initially blamed the killings on gang wars. Moerdani later claimed the government commit murder but that "Some were gunned down by security men, but it was because they resisted arrest." [3]
Unannounced to the public, the Petrus Killings were conducted as shock therapy within society in order to reduce the high rate of crime. The operation was planned in March 1983 by the Yogyakarta garrison commander Lt. Col. M. Hasbi. Soon, the operation would spread as some criminals surrendered, some were shot and the lucky managed to flee.[3] Many of the criminals executed were tattooed which was seen as a visible indicator of activity and disorder within society.[1] The Petrus Killings caused crime to drop significantly. Specifically, violent crime in Yogyakarta dropped from 57 to 20 in 1983 and during the same period, Semarang witnessed a drop from 78 to 50. Because of this, the government viewed the operation as a success.
Suharto himself would not acknowledge the killings and the fact that they were the work of the military until his biography, Pikiran, Ucapan, dan Tindakan Saya (My Thoughts, Words, and Deeds) was published in 1988. In the book, Suharto explains: “The incidents were not mysterious. The real problem was that the incidents were preceded by public fears.” Because some evil people had exceeded norms in society, “we had to initiate some treatment, some stern action,” Suharto would claim. ”What kind of action? Well, we had to resort to force. But it was not just execution by shootings. No! Those who resisted had to be shot. They were gunned down because they fought back.”[1][3]
The mystery behind the Petrus Killings has been unfolding over the years but no specific death toll has been established. In 1983, it was estimated that 300 corpses were found throughout Indonesia but this number was likely inaccurate because many criminals had vanished without a trace. Mulyana W. Kusumah, an leading Indonesian criminologist believes that the number could be as high as 2,000. Hans van den Broek, the former Foreign Minister of the Netherlands requested in 1984 that the Indonesian government respect human rights and subsequently, the number was then placed at 3,000. Other reports put the death toll around 10,000 .[1] Research continues to reveal the extent of the Petrus Killings and how they applied to anti-crime efforts in many major Indonesian cities.[3]