ABRI again warns of communism<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Armed Forces (ABRI) renewed its warning of a
\npossible communist revival in Indonesia, saying the threat was
\nreal, not imaginary as some people claimed.<\/p>\n
Although the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) has been
\neliminated and banned, its ideology is still very much alive,
\nABRI Chief Gen. Feisal told a seminar on Saturday, which was held
\nto mark the 31st anniversary of the crushing of a PKI coup plot.<\/p>\n
The communist ideology can never be totally destroyed because
\nit is not "a perishable material" but a fruit of human thought,
\nFeisal said.<\/p>\n
Tomorrow, the nation commemorates Pancasila Sanctity Day,
\nwhich marks the victory of the state ideology in the face of the
\nSept. 30, 1965 communist coup attempt.<\/p>\n
Government and military officials mark the occasion every year
\nby warning people of the latent dangers of a communist revival.<\/p>\n
Feisal noted with concern that some people, mostly the young,
\nare skeptical of such warnings, especially now that the communist
\nideology has been discarded by the country that first adopted it,
\nan apparent reference to communist Soviet Union.<\/p>\n
He cited four chief reasons to support the military theory
\nthat the latent dangers remain in Indonesia: communism is still
\nalive in China, Cuba and North Korea; communism continues to be
\nthe antithesis to capitalism; there are remnants of PKI cadres at
\nhome and abroad still obsessed with making a comeback in one form
\nor another; the economic disparity in Indonesia makes it an ideal
\ntarget for communist attacks.<\/p>\n
The one-day seminar, which also featured State Minister of
\nYouth Affairs and Sports Hayono Isman, was organized by Yayasan
\nDharma Pena Indonesia, a foundation set up by political
\njournalists and analysts.<\/p>\n
The seminar was attended by about 200 participants from
\nvarious youth organizations.<\/p>\n
Concern<\/p>\n
Hayono said many young Indonesians who were born after 1965
\ndid not share the same concern about the dangers of communism
\nbecause they did not experience the betrayal of the PKI.<\/p>\n
Feisal warned the youths that communism exploits class
\nconflicts and manipulates sensitive political issues such as
\nhuman rights, democracy and the environment to achieve its goals.<\/p>\n
He said the Democratic People's Party (PRD) is an example of a
\nmetamorphosis of the PKI.<\/p>\n
The PRD has been blamed for the massive riot in Central
\nJakarta on July 27. Following the arrests of its leaders and
\nmembers, the military said it found documents that suggested
\nsimilarities in structure and methods between the PRD and PKI.<\/p>\n
Feisal said military intelligence also discovered that besides
\nchanging in form, the PKI remnants will likely link up with other
\nextreme organizations to further its goals.<\/p>\n
Remnants of the PKI would also use peaceful and humanitarian
\novertures to draw the sympathies of the intelligentsia, something
\nthey would not do if they were in power.<\/p>\n
"When in power, they don't recognize peace or humanitarianism.
\nThey are no longer friends. For them, the main thing is that they
\nhave achieved their goals," he said.<\/p>\n
"Communists do not have eternal friends or eternal enemies.
\nThey only have eternal interests.<\/p>\n
"In the name of these interests, communists will do anything.
\nTheir methods can range from the softest, by pretending to adhere
\nto democracy, to the most violent and inhuman ones such as
\nrevolution, radicalization and dehumanization," he said.<\/p>\n
"For the last 30 years, the PKI has used peaceful propaganda
\nin its activities to remain in existence," Feisal said.<\/p>\n
Feisal stressed that the phrase "organization without form",
\npopularly known by its Indonesian acronym OTB, is not a military
\ncreation, but was first coined by the PKI itself.<\/p>\n
The use of the term by the military to refer to the
\nunderground activities of the PKI in the last 30 years had been
\nquestioned by linguistic experts.<\/p>\n
"If the term 'OTB' is considered as violating grammatical
\nrules, this is understandable, because the PKI never learned to
\nuse Bahasa Indonesia properly and correctly," he said, evoking
\nlaughter from the crowd. "The only language the PKI knows is the
\nlanguage of power and opportunity to steamroll and eliminate
\nfriends and foes," Feisal said.<\/p>\n
"I think it is naive that some people received the warning
\ngiven by ABRI a while ago about the dangers of OTB with
\ncontempt," he said, recalling that some people translated OTB
\ninto Omomg Tanpa Bukti (To accuse without evidence). (16)<\/p>",
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