Betrayal of Pancasila tragedy commemorated<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): In a sign of the changing times, the country
\ncommemorated on Sunday what used to be called Pancasila Sanctity
\nDay but has been renamed \"Commemoration of the National Tragedy
\ndue to the Betrayal of Pancasila\".<\/p>\n
The ceremony, which is usually full of ritual, was scaled down
\nto a brief 20 minutes and was led by Vice President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri.<\/p>\n
Megawati, who opened the ceremony at Lubang Buaya (crocodile
\nhole) Monument in East Jakarta at 7:55 a.m,, also skipped the
\nannual ritual of visiting three prominent spots in the compound,
\nnamely the monument of seven national heroes, the diorama room
\nwhich was the 1965 torturing site of the victims and a dried-out
\nwell in which the bodies of the slain victims were dumped.<\/p>\n
Anhar Gonggong, committee event chief and director of history
\nand museum at the Ministry of National Education, said the
\nPresident, Vice President and related officials agreed to change
\nthe name of the day as they wanted to change the misperception
\nthat Pancasila, the national ideology, was sacred.<\/p>\n
\"The Sept. 30, 1965 incident was a tragedy and therefore we
\naltered the title of the commemoration,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"It's also important for the people to learn the essence of
\nthe truth and the revision of history which was manipulated
\nduring the rule of the past regime,\" Anhar remarked.<\/p>\n
The event is an historical watershed in Indonesian history
\nwhich helped usher in the New Order era and was the beginning of
\nthe end for then president Sukarno.<\/p>\n
The official version of events has it that the Indonesian
\nCommunist Party (PKI) kidnapped and murdered top Army generals to
\ntopple Sukarno and pave the party's way to power.<\/p>\n
The generals killed in the incident were Army chief of staff
\nLt. Gen. Ahmad Yani, Maj. Gen. R. Soeprapto, Maj. Gen. S. Harjono
\nMas Tirtodarmo, Maj. Gen. S. Parman, Brig. Gen. D.I. Pandjaitan
\nand Brig. Gen. Soetojo S.<\/p>\n
Gen. Abdul Haris Nasution, who at the time was minister of
\ndefense, was also targeted but managed to escape. However, his
\nfive-year-old daughter Ade Irma Nasution and his loyal adjutant,
\nCapt. Pierre Andreas Tendean, were mistakenly shot by his
\nassailants.<\/p>\n
History books officially recount that it was during this time
\nof commotion that a young Maj. Gen. Soeharto, who was then
\ncommander the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad), came on
\nthe scene to crush the communist uprising.<\/p>\n
During Sunday's ceremony, People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)
\nSpeaker Amien Rais read the Pancasila text while Minister of
\nNational Education Yahya Muhaimin read the preamble of the 1945
\nConstitution.<\/p>\n
House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Akbar Tandjung then
\nread an oath on the nation's united stance to defend and practice
\nPancasila (as a state ideology).<\/p>\n
\"The national tragedy was made possible by a careless
\ncondition in which the people were tricked and manipulated by the
\nleaders of PKI,\" Akbar said reading the oath.<\/p>\n
Also present during the ceremony were the families of the
\nslain national heroes as well as Indonesian Military (TNI)
\nCommander Adm. Widodo A.S., Air Force Chief of Staff Hanafie
\nAsnan, National Police chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro and several
\nCabinet ministers.<\/p>\n
Commenting on the scaled-down ceremony, minister Yahya later
\ntold journalists that it was \"merely due to efficiency\".<\/p>\n
\"Besides, Ibu Mega has another immediate appointment in
\nYogyakarta today.\"<\/p>\n
Megawati was reportedly expected to attend the wedding
\nceremony of former presidential secretary Ratih Hardjono and
\nNahdlatul Ulama chairman Fajrul Falaakh in Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
Akbar Tandjung, however, expressed disappointment that a
\ncomplete tour of the monument was not taken.<\/p>\n
Speaking to journalists, Yahya and Anhar Gonggong revealed
\nthat teachers and students would be given revisions of historical
\nevents.<\/p>\n
\"Many of the country's major events have been manipulated,\"
\nYahya said, citing the examples of the March 1, 1949, attack in
\nYogyakarta in which former president Soeharto was solely
\ncredited as the initiator.<\/p>\n
\"It turns out that the late Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX was the
\nmain initiator. On the historical accounts of the controversial
\nSupersemar letter in 1966, there is also a rather illogical view
\nthat Panggabean, a second lieutenant at the time, would dare to
\npoint a gun at Sukarno,\" Anhar explained.<\/p>\n
While the ceremony itself seems to have been watered down,
\nwarnings against the dangers of communism and fundamentalist
\nmovements prevailed.<\/p>\n
After the ceremony Amien Rais said: \"Communism as an ideology
\nhas not yet died.<\/p>\n
\"It still works day and night to gain the momentum to return.
\nAs a nation we have been warned that 1965 was the darkest moment
\nof this country and it must never occur again.\"<\/p>\n
On Islamic fundamentalism, Amien warned that without proper
\neducation and general awareness, it could easily spread.<\/p>\n
\"I think that since the country has set a national consensus
\nfrom the very beginning on the formation of the state ideology,
\nPancasila is thus an irrevocable conclusion,\" he said. (edt)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/betrayal-of-pancasila-tragedy-commemorated-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}