The following article is a list of massacres that have occurred in Indonesia.
Colonial Indonesia NameDateLocationDeathsNotesBanda massacre7 March – late 1621Lontor, Maluku2,500–2,800Genocidal massacre of the Banda people by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) under Jan Pieterszoon Coen during the Dutch conquest of the Banda Islands.Massacre of ulema by Amangkurat I1648Sultanate of Mataram5,000–6,000Around 5,000–6,000 ulemas and their family members were slain within less than thirty minutes. This massacre was ordered by Sultan Amangkurat I in order to exact revenge, since two days before his own younger brother Prince Alit tried to overthrow him1740 Batavia massacre9 October – 22 November 1740Jakarta10,000+Pogrom of the Chinese community of Batavia by the VOC under Governor-General Adriaan Valckenier.Kuta Reh massacre14 June 1904, Aceh561Massacre of the inhabitants of Kuta Reh by the Korps Marechaussee te voet of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) under General Gotfried Coenraad Ernst van Daalen during the Aceh War.1918 Kudus riot31 October 1918Kudus, Central Java 10Pogrom of the Chinese community of Kudus by Javanese residents.1942 Qantas Short Empire shootdown30 January 1942Timor Sea off West Timor13The Corio, a Short Empire flying boat airliner, operated by Qantas, was shot down by Imperial Japanese Naval Air Service aircraft in the early days of the Pacific War during World War II off the coast of West Timor, Thirteen occupants were killed. Captain Aubrey Koch, along with another crewman and three passengers, swam to shore and were rescued.Laha massacreFebruary 1942Ambon, Maluku309Massacre of Australian and Dutch prisoners of war (POWs) by the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) under General Takeo Itō during the Dutch East Indies campaign.Bangka Island massacre16 February 1942Bangka, Bangka Belitung Islands82Massacre of Australian and British nurses and POWs by the IJA following the Fall of Singapore.Balikpapan massacre24 February 1942Balikpapan, East Kalimantan78Massacre of Dutch civilians and POWs by the 56th Division of the IJA during the Dutch East Indies campaign.Pig-basket atrocity1942–1943Throughout the Indonesian ArchipelagoUnknownKillings of Allied POWs by the Japanese Kempeitai and the IJA under General Hitoshi Imamura during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies.Pontianak incidents1943–1944Kalimantan20,000+Massacres of various Borneo demographies, in particular local ethnic Malay elites, by the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies.Bersiap killingsAugust 1945 – November 1947The end of the Bersiap period is variously placed in March 1946 (per KITLV/NIMH/NIOD), November 1947 (per William H. Frederick), and even December 1949 (per the Dutch government).Throughout the Indonesian Archipelago3,500–30,000Revolutionary and intercommunal killings of Chinese, Europeans, Indos, Japanese, Minahasans, Moluccans, and other demographies by (fellow) native Indonesians during the Indonesian National Revolution; in particular between the surrender of Japan in August 1945 and the arrival of the Dutch military in March 1946.Bulu prison massacreAugust 1945Semarang, Central Java200+Massacre of Japanese POWs by Indonesian revolutionaries during the Indonesian National Revolution. In response, over 2,500 Indonesians were massacred by the Japanese.South Sulawesi campaign10 December 1946 – 21 February 1947South Sulawesi4,600–5,000Killings of Sulawesi civilians during the Indonesian National Revolution; 3,100–3,500 people killed by troops of the KNIL and the Korps Speciale Troepen (KST) under Captain Raymond Westerling, and approximately 1,500 people killed by Indonesian revolutionaries.1947 Yogyakarta Dakota incident29 July 1947Ngoto, Bantul8A Douglas C-47 Skytrain carrying medical supplies to the national government of Indonesia, was shot down over Ngoto, Bantul with only one survivor of the nine aboard. The Dutch initially denied complicity but would eventually pay restitution.Mergosono massacre31 July 1947Malang, East Java30Pogrom of the Chinese community of Mergosono by Indonesian revolutionaries during the Indonesian National Revolution.Rawagede massacre9 December 1947, West Java431Massacre of the inhabitants of Rawegede by KNIL troops under Major Alphons Wijnen during the Indonesian National Revolution.Rengat massacre5 January 1949Rengat, Riau400–2,600Massacre of the inhabitants of Rengat by KST troops under Lieutenant Rudy de Mey during the Indonesian National Revolution.
Post-independence