Bintang Merah (

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

: Red Star) was a magazine of the

Communist Party of Indonesia The Communist Party of Indonesia (Indonesian: ''Partai Komunis Indonesia'', PKI) was a communist party in Indonesia during the mid-20th century. It was the largest non-ruling communist party in the world before its violent disbandment in 1965. ...

which published in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

from 1945 to 1948 and again from 1950 to 1965. It described itself as a ''magazine of Marxist-Leninist politics and theory.''

History

The magazine began publication at the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

with the departure of Japanese forces from the

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. However, it was banned in 1948 during the

Madiun Affair The Madiun Affair ( id, Peristiwa Madiun), known locally as the Communist Party of Indonesia rebellion of 1948 ( id, Pemberontakan Partai Komunis Indonesia 1948), was an armed conflict between the government of the self-proclaimed Republic of ...

along with other communist newspapers such as ''Buruh'', ''Revolusioner'', and ''Suara Ibu Kota''. With all the newspapers banned,

Musso Munawar Musso (1897, in Kediri, East Java – Madiun, on 31 October 1948) was a leader of the Communist Party of Indonesia and one of the key figures in the 1948 Madiun affair. Biography Early life Musso was born Munawar Musso in 1897, Pagu, ...

, the

PKI PKI may refer to: * Partai Komunis Indonesia, the Communist Party of Indonesia * Peter Kiewit Institute The Peter Kiewit Institute is a facility in Omaha, Nebraska, United States which houses academic programs from the University of Nebraska� ...

leader, went on ''Radio Gelora Pemoeda'' and denounced the government of

Sukarno Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of ...

and

Mohammad Hatta Mohammad Hatta (; 12 August 1902 – 14 March 1980) was an Indonesian statesman and nationalist who served as the country's first vice president. Known as "The Proclamator", he and a number of Indonesians, including the first president of Indone ...

, stating that they were following a policy of capitulation towards the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and that they had risen to power during the

Japanese Occupation of Indonesia The Empire of Japan occupied the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) during World War II from March 1942 until after the end of the war in September 1945. It was one of the most crucial and important periods in modern Indonesian history. In May ...

with ties to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. In the early independence period, the political alignments in

shifted and the Communists became closer to

. In August 1950, the magazine was allowed to start publishing again twice per month. The new editorial staff were

D. N. Aidit Dipa Nusantara Aidit (born Ahmad Aidit; 30 July 1923 – 22 November 1965) was an Indonesian communist politician, who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) from 1951 until his summary execution during the Indones ...

, Lukman,

Njoto Lukman Njoto or Njoto (17 January 1927 – 13 December 1965) was a senior national leader of the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI), who joined the party shortly after the country's declaration of independence, and was killed following the 1965 co ...

and Peris Pardede. But they still faced occasional persecution; in August of 1951 there were mass arrests of leftists of various parties in

East Java East Java ( id, Jawa Timur) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the easternmost hemisphere of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean bord ...

, and editor (and PKI central committee member) B.O. Hutapea was among them, along with editors of ''Trompet Masjarakat'', ''Republik'' and editors of a number of

Chinese Indonesian Chinese Indonesians ( id, Orang Tionghoa Indonesia) and colloquially Chindo or just Tionghoa are Indonesians whose ancestors arrived from China at some stage in the last eight centuries. Chinese people and their Indonesian descendants have ...

papers. This was after an earlier round of raids on Communists in East Java, which Hutapea had called a "politics of demoralization" being waged against them by the government. ''Bintang Merah'' claimed to have a circulation of 10,000 by the end of 1950 but gradually declined to under 8,000 in 1953. It was surpassed in circulation by another party paper,

Harian Rakjat (EYD: , 'People's Daily') was an Indonesian newspaper published by the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) from 1951-1965. The motto was ('For the people there is only one daily, Harian Rakjat!'). Harian Rakyat was managed by Njoto as a member ...

, which went from 2,000 circulation in 1951 to 15,000 in 1953. It is unclear for how long it ceased publication, but a report from early 1964 reports that ''Bintang Merah'' was once again allowed to resume publication. However, it was permanently closed in 1965 with the banning of the

after the

September 30 Movement The Thirtieth of September Movement ( id, Gerakan 30 September, abbreviated as G30S, also known by the acronym Gestapu for ''Gerakan September Tiga Puluh'', Thirtieth of September Movement) was a self-proclaimed organization of Indonesian N ...

. Most of the editors faced trials and became political prisoners or were executed. B.O. Hutapea escaped and lived in hiding for several years, being finally killed in a shootout with police in

Blitar Blitar is a landlocked city in East Java, Indonesia, about 73 km from Malang and 167 km from Surabaya. The area lies within longitude 111° 40' – 112° 09' East and its latitude is 8° 06' South. The city of Blitar lies at an altitude ...

in 1968.

External links

A 1963 speech by Bintang Merah editor B.O. Hutapea
(in

)

References

Communist magazines Communist Party of Indonesia Defunct newspapers published in Indonesia Indonesian-language newspapers 1945 establishments in Indonesia 1965 disestablishments in Indonesia {{Indonesia-stub