Communism much alive: General<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Military intelligence has found that communism
\nis very much alive in Indonesia and is supported by former
\nmembers of the outlawed Indonesian Communist Party (PKI),
\naccording to a senior officer of the Armed Forces (ABRI).<\/p>\n
Maj. Gen. Syarwan Hamid, assistant to the ABRI chief of socio-
\npolitical affairs, said on Saturday that the PKI has undergone a
\n\"metamorphosis\".<\/p>\n
\"Military intelligence and socio-political analysis, including
\nfacts found in several regions, indicate that the PKI is alive
\nand has metamorphosed into many forms,\" Syarwan said.<\/p>\n
The changes of form make detecting the communists' activities
\ndifficult, he added.<\/p>\n
As an example of the new forms taken by the PKI, he pointed to
\nthe recent arrest of a number of former communists in Central
\nJava, whom the military said had been reviving the old cause of
\nan Islamic state in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Syarwan said that 13 non-governmental organizations, under the
\n\"pretense of defending the people and democracy\", had also been
\nusing methods \"similar to those used by the PKI\". He did not name
\nthe organizations concerned.<\/p>\n
President Soeharto has warned that certain \"formless\"
\norganizations have been propagating communist teachings in the
\nguise of concern for human rights and democracy, preying on young
\npeople in particular. ABRI leaders have also warned that remnants
\nof the PKI and its supporters have become active again.<\/p>\n
The PKI was banned in March 1966, some six months after an
\nabortive coup which the Army blamed on the party.<\/p>\n
Most of the thousands of former PKI members who were detained
\nin the aftermath of the ban were released in the late 1970s. Two
\nmen accused of supporting the coup, former deputy prime minister
\nSoebandrio and former Air Force commander Omar Dhani, were only
\nreleased in August this year.<\/p>\n
Syarwan said organizational metamorphosis was a \"classic
\ncommunist technique used by the PKI to rebuild its strength\". He
\nsaid that the communist party had betrayed the nation twice
\npreviously, in 1926 and in 1948, each time managing to return to
\nthe political scene.<\/p>\n
Approach<\/p>\n
\"The PKI always changes its strategic approach in dealing with
\ndifferent people or organizations,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In the old days, the PKI infiltrated Islamic organizations,
\nincluding the Sarekat Islam and the Nahdlatul Ulama, he said.<\/p>\n
Syarwan denied that ABRI was being overcautious or obsessive
\nabout the possibility of a communist resurgence, which he said, \"
\nis better than having to bear the consequences of failing to
\nanticipate the communist threat.\"<\/p>\n
\"If you've got a cancer on your foot, you can still have it
\namputated. But if the cancer spreads and attacks your throat, you
\nthen have to have your throat amputated,\" he explained.<\/p>\n
Syarwan was speaking at a seminar organized by Fosko 66, a
\nloose forum grouping former student leaders who took to the
\nstreets in 1966 to demand the disbandment of the PKI for its role
\nin the coup the previous year. The street protests also led to
\nthe downfall of president Sukarno and helped bring Gen. Soeharto
\nto power.<\/p>\n
Eky Syahrudin, one of the student leaders, told the seminar
\nthat the best way to prevent a resurrection of communism in
\nIndonesia is to address the social inequity that still exists.<\/p>\n
\"Communism grows in a socially and politically unequal
\nsociety,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"Monopolies, though unintentionally a part of the country's
\ncurrent economic system, have to be abolished. There should be
\nequal opportunity for people to do business.\"<\/p>\n
Bambang Suharto, a former student activist and now a member of
\nthe National Commission on Human Rights, underlined the
\nimportance of better communications among the country's leaders.<\/p>\n
Bambang said he detected reluctance on the part of officials
\nwhen it came to telling their superiors bad news. The phenomenon
\nmay also exist among cabinet ministers, he added.<\/p>\n
\"I wonder whether our top officials have the courage to tell
\nbad news to the President,\" he said. (imn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/communism-much-alive-general-1447893297",
"image": ""
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