Between 1950 and 1965, the new government wanted to make Buru part of Indonesia. In the 1960s and 1970s, during the military regime of General Suharto, Buru became a main prison. Most prisoners were Communists and other left-wing representatives, and intellectuals. Most camps on Buru were closed in 1980. More than 12,000 people had been prisoners. At least several hundred had died or been killed.