Now is the time to kill Chinese: social revolution and the massacre of Chinese in Tangerang, 1945-1946

This thesis examines the massacre of Chinese in Tangerang that occurred between late May and June 1946, following the Dutch occupation in Serpong, Tangerang. More than a thousand Chinese men, women, and children were killed in various places in the interior of Tangerang. This thesis argues that the massacre was not an incidental event, but had its roots in the social disorganization, economic instability, and the collapse of authority occasioned by the Dutch colonial regime and Japanese occupation. Although outbursts of violence in Indonesia have a long history, the Tangerang massacre is a unique case, as it was targeted at a specific population, and it was perpetrated by a specific religious group. Moreover, jawara was also included in local patterns of violence and played a useful role of intimidation of those considered a problem of local government. Perpetrators of anti-Chinese violence in Tangerang justified their actions by saying that the Chinese were aliens in the community,...Show moreThis thesis examines the massacre of Chinese in Tangerang that occurred between late May and June 1946, following the Dutch occupation in Serpong, Tangerang. More than a thousand Chinese men, women, and children were killed in various places in the interior of Tangerang. This thesis argues that the massacre was not an incidental event, but had its roots in the social disorganization, economic instability, and the collapse of authority occasioned by the Dutch colonial regime and Japanese occupation. Although outbursts of violence in Indonesia have a long history, the Tangerang massacre is a unique case, as it was targeted at a specific population, and it was perpetrated by a specific religious group. Moreover, jawara was also included in local patterns of violence and played a useful role of intimidation of those considered a problem of local government. Perpetrators of anti-Chinese violence in Tangerang justified their actions by saying that the Chinese were aliens in the community, as well as non-believers. The Tangerang massacre was only one in a long series of cases of anti-Chinese violence all over Java, in which both the Dutch and the Indonesian Republic failed to protect the lives of the Chinese population during the Indonesian Revolutionary period. Although considerable efforts were made by the Republic to protect the Chinese in order to enlist their support, the Republic's military forces were insufficient to prevent hostile acts by extremist elements whose animosity had been directed against the Chinese. Soon after the massacre in Tangerang, more cases of anti-Chinese violence emerged in other parts of Indonesia: Bagan Siapi-Api (1946), Cirebon (1947), Cibadak (1947), and Cilimus (1947). To date, no specific research has been conducted to examine the communal violence in those areas.Show less

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Now is the time to kill Chinese: social revolution and the massacre of Chinese in Tangerang, 1945-1946