The 1965 Indonesian coup

The 1965 Indonesian coup involved a failed attempt by a group of army officers, led by Major General Suharto, to overthrow President Sukarno's government. Following the coup, widespread violence erupted, leading to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of suspected communists and leftists. The military used this chaos as a pretext to seize power, eventually sidelining Sukarno and establishing Suharto's New Order regime. This event significantly shifted Indonesia’s political landscape, ending Sukarno’s era of nationalist and communist influence and marking the start of Suharto’s long authoritarian rule.