From “The Look of Silence: Will New Film Force U.S. to Acknowledge Role in 1965 Indonesian Genocide?” on Democracy Now!

October 1 marks the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the 1965 genocide in Indonesia that left over one million people dead. Human rights groups are circulating petitions calling for the U.S. government to acknowledge its role in the genocide and to release CIA, military and other governmental records related to the mass killings.

The United States provided the Indonesian army with financial, military and intelligence support at the time of the mass killings. Today we look at the pursuit of one Indonesian man confronting his brother’s killers. In 1965, Adi Rukun’s older brother was killed by the Komando Aksi, a paramilitary organization in Aceh.

Adi Rukun’s pursuit is the focus on Joshua Oppenheimer’s new documentary, “The Look of Silence.” In 2012, Oppenheimer released a companion film titled “The Act of Killing,” in which he interviewed the Indonesian death squad leaders and worked with them to re-enact the real-life killings. The film was nominated for an Academy Award.

h/t to Carl Howard

“The Look of Silence”: Will New Film Force U.S. to Acknowledge Role in 1965 Indonesian Genocide?