Greatest threat is injustice, not communism, Nasution says<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's most senior military figure and
\nsurvivor of the 1965 failed communist coup, Gen. (ret) Abdul
\nHaris Nasution, said social injustice, not communism, was the
\ngreatest threat to the nation's survival.<\/p>\n
\"Communism, though as an ideology remains a threat, fails to
\nattract people anymore,\" he remarked.<\/p>\n
On the eve of the 32nd anniversary of the failed putsch,
\nNasution said the measure of Indonesia's successful development
\nrested on its achievement in battling social injustice.<\/p>\n
Speaking after receiving a courtesy call from Chief of Jakarta
\nRegional Military Command Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, Nasution
\nsaid social injustice was now the main cause of dissatisfaction.<\/p>\n
\"Unsolved social injustice can be exploited to disrupt the
\ncountry's stability and challenge our nation's unity,\" Nasution
\nsaid at his residence in Menteng, Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
He dismissed the widely believed view that communism was still
\nthe country's number-one threat and enemy.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that even in Russia, only 10 percent of its
\npopulation belonged to the Communist Party.<\/p>\n
Nasution was one of several senior generals targeted for
\nassassination by the now banned Indonesian Communist Party on the
\nnight of Sept. 30, 1965.<\/p>\n
He managed to escape, but his five-year-old daughter Ade Irma
\nSuryani was shot and killed by soldiers who were trying to
\nassassinate him.<\/p>\n
Nasution's view of social injustice as the primary threat to
\nthe nation won strong support from three political observers:
\nRoeslan Abdoelgani, Amien Rais and Nurcholish Madjid.<\/p>\n
\"Injustice is the most fertile medium for extreme ideology,
\nlike communism, to develop,\" Roeslan said.<\/p>\n
However, he remarked that communism remained a threat despite
\nits waning influence.<\/p>\n
\"We must remain alert to any extreme ideology in such an
\nunpredictable situation,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Amien Rais was unsure whether the ideology still prevailed in
\nthe country.<\/p>\n
\"Communism will only develop here if the widening gap between
\nmembers of our nation remains unsolved,\" Amien, a social and
\npolitical science lecturer at Gadjah Mada University in
\nYogyakarta, said yesterday during a discussion on the failed
\ncoup.<\/p>\n
Separately, Nurcholish also said social injustice was a
\nproblem that had to be urgently addressed.<\/p>\n
He did not speak on the prevalence of communist ideology in
\nsociety, saying only that communism stuttered the growth of
\ndemocracy.<\/p>\n
In contrast, Minister\/State Secretary Moerdiono maintained
\nthat the nation was still prone to such extreme ideology.<\/p>\n
\"The masses are basically irrational and emotional, easily
\nprovoked into violence,\" Moerdiono told participants of the
\ndiscussion.<\/p>\n
\"Communist principles and tactics can easily be adopted and
\nthen adapted by extreme organizations in their activities here,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
\"Some recently published books, written by prominent
\nnationalist-communist figures of the late 1950s and early 1960s,
\nshow that they have not repented,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"They continuously undermine what the government has done in
\nthe past 30 years,\" he added.<\/p>\n
The latest example, he said, was last year's maneuver by a
\ngroup of youth activists, who not only used communist-like terms
\nand vision, but also mimicked communist actions in their
\nactivities.<\/p>\n
Moerdiono did not specify the group of youth activists, but
\nobservers believed that he was referring to the Democratic
\nPeople's Party (PRD), whose leaders were convicted of subversion
\nearly this year. (imn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/greatest-threat-is-injustice-not-communism-nasution-says-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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