Govt called on to restore PKI members' basic rights<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The new administration of president-in-waiting Susilo Bambang
\nYudhoyono will be responsible for restoring the basic rights of
\nthe families and relatives of suspected members of the outlawed
\nIndonesian Communist Party (PKI), as part of a comprehensive
\nreconciliation drive, historians say.<\/p>\n
Anhar Gonggong and Asvi Warman Adam of the Indonesian
\nInstitute of Sciences (LIPI) said families and relatives of the
\nPKI members had been treated unfairly in the aftermath of an
\naborted coup on Sept. 30, 1965 -- which was linked to the party
\n-- to the point where they had become outcasts in their own
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
"First and foremost, we must restore their economic rights,
\nwhich they have been deprived of until now. The government must
\nreturn assets belonging to suspected PKI members, which were
\nseized by the military without the due process of the law," Anhar
\ntold The Jakarta Post over the weekend.<\/p>\n
He also suggested that the incoming government strengthen the
\nplanned Truth and Reconciliation Commission, to enable it to
\nrehabilitate suspected members of the PKI, who fell victim to the
\narbitrary treatment of the New Order regime.<\/p>\n
Anhar was responding to a question on what the government
\nshould do to improve the lives of suspected members of the PKI
\nand their families, who lived in poverty under former president
\nSoeharto's New Order regime.<\/p>\n
With little fanfare, the government commemorated on Friday
\nthe Sanctity Day of state ideology Pancasila, which, under the
\nNew Order regime, was used to instill fear in the people of the
\nlatent threat of communism.<\/p>\n
Under his command, Soeharto launched a purge of suspected
\nmembers of the PKI, following the abduction and murders of seven
\nArmy generals on Sept. 30, 1965.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of thousands of people reportedly vanished or
\ndisappeared in the purge, while tens of thousands were banished
\nto remote islands in the country. Thousands of others sought
\nexile abroad.<\/p>\n
In the years following the fall of Soeharto, general
\nconditions were less hostile to the suspected PKI members and
\ntheir families. Earlier this year, the Constitutional Court
\nrestored the political rights of those linked with the communist
\nparty by allowing them to vote and contest the legislative
\nelection.<\/p>\n
Asvi shared Anhar's view, saying that improvements to the
\nlives of alleged PKI members had, thus far, been inadequate and
\ntranspired only on paper.<\/p>\n
"Indeed, there have been revocations of regulations that
\nsanction discriminatory treatment against them, but the existing
\nlegislations still bar them from running for office, from the
\npresidency to the lowest village level," he told the Post.<\/p>\n
Asvi said compensation for New Order victims could be
\ndisbursed as scholarships for their children, or as credit to
\nstart a business.<\/p>\n
He said the road to equality between ordinary citizens and
\nthose who were linked to the communist party would be a
\n"tortuous" one.<\/p>\n
"The Soeharto regime instilled its view of events on Sept. 30
\nfor more than thirty years. We may need half that time to restore
\nthe bad image of PKI members that was cultivated," he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-called-on-to-restore-pki-members-basic-rights-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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