banned in Indonesia
By : Agus*)
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo told the country to remain vigilant against the prospect of socio political unrest that could threaten the country’s stability, just as the botched coup blamed on the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) in 1965 unleashed a squall of turmoil across the archipelago.
“I hope the G30S/PKI [coup] will not happen again in our beloved country,” Jokowi said
Earlier, senior government officials issued statements that the government would not resort to any judicial mechanism to resolve past human rights abuse cases, including the 1965 communist pogrom.
Retired Army general Syaiful Sulun, chairman of the Communications Forum of Ex-Indonesian Military Personnel, supported Jokowi’s refusal to make an apology, arguing that the President did not have to apologize to the victims.
“They were screaming for the President to apologize. Who were the victims in this case, if they [the PKI] were the ones who started killing our generals? And that’s why the people were angry [at them] at that time,” he said
Beside that, National Police Deputy Chief Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan said that the police had identified the people who were alleged to have spread rumors throughout online media that Jokowi would apologize to former PKI members and their relatives on behalf of the state.
“We have done our job and have identified several parties that we suspect may have spread the news in written form and images through online media,” he said. He declined, however, to disclose the identities of the alleged perpetrators.
Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said that the rumor was intended to discredit the President and that he warned against those who had spread such rumors. During the presidential campaign season last year, a smear campaign targeted Jokowi by insinuating that his parents were related to the outlawed party.
Members of the Muslim community have urged Jokowi not to make the apology.
Islam Defenders Front (FPI) patron Muhammad Rizieq Shihab, known as Habib Rizieq, said an apology for the 1965 purge could lead to the recrudescence of communist ideology and threaten Muslims.
“If you [Jokowi] apologize, then the state must pay compensation of Rp 1 billion [US$68,000]. If there are 3 million families, that means Rp 3 quadrillion. The PKI could rise again,” exclaimed Rizieq before screening the movie Pengkhianatan G30S at Majlis Talim Revolusi Anwarul Hidayah hall in Jakarta.
*) The Author is Brunei Contributor