I WOULD like to draw your attention to an error in an item in the World News on page 5, of your April 19 edition.

In the piece "Indonesia to look at 1965-66 massacres", the author wrote: "Most of those killed were ethnic Chinese and accused of being communist". This is not true.

Research by Charles A Coppel in 1983 and Professor Robert Cribb in 1991thoroughly debunked this myth.

Both these Australian gentlemen are prominent Indonesian historians. Professor Cribb concluded that: "Chinese Indonesians experienced serious harassment but relatively few were killed".

I am amazed that the myth has survived so long but even more amazed to see it repeated the QT.

KEN ALDERTON One Mile

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