PKI: Opening a new chapter, without closing book<\/p>\n
Revoking the ban on communism is urgent to turn a new page in
\nthe country's traumatic history, writes political analyst
\nKusnanto Anggoro, senior researcher at the Centre for Strategic
\nand International Studies, and lecturer in the postgraduate
\nstudies program at the University of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid has again put
\nhimself at the center stage of controversy. His call to revoke
\nPeople's Consultative Assembly Decree No. 25\/1966, on the banning
\nof Marxism-Leninism, has provoked discussion.<\/p>\n
Responses have ranged from fear that revoking the decree would
\npromote atheism, to the potential rebirth of a communist party.
\nOther criticism is politically motivated, accusing the President
\nof exceeding his authority. Sentiments against communism and
\npower struggles appear to be in the background of the
\ncontroversy.<\/p>\n
It signifies many things. First, it is likely that our
\nunderstanding of Marxism-Leninism has been limited to what best
\ncan be called fetishism in an irrational devotion to views that
\nhave been spoon-fed to us.<\/p>\n
The New Order tradition of rejecting parties and ideologies
\nhas become so embedded in society that people make no distinction
\nbetween ideology and politics.<\/p>\n
Second, many consider it a one-dimensional issue of
\nrestricting communism. It is a collective memory of winning, and
\nperhaps, fear of revenge.<\/p>\n
The President, given his background and political status,
\nappears to be basing his opinion on more comprehensive and
\nmultidimensional aspects, politically driven or otherwise.<\/p>\n
The battleground is therefore asymmetrical, on different
\nwavelengths, of opposing mind-sets. It is a game of chicken.<\/p>\n
Indeed, the potential for a communist rebirth remains remote.
\nThe significance of communism can never be measured by the number
\nof Communists.<\/p>\n
Lenin's slogan was \"fewer but better\"; a long-established
\nslogan is \"the party grows strong through purging itself\".<\/p>\n
The theory of communism is of the chosen few who are
\norganized, disciplined, dedicated and equipped with superior
\nintelligence and understanding of the laws of history -- that is
\na power struggle, and, if necessary violent conflict.<\/p>\n
Even acute observers, while noting the numerical weakness of
\nthe Communists, realize how they are able to rally into their
\nservice multitudes who are completely unaware that they are
\nserving the communist cause.<\/p>\n
In the virtual age, one can easily find the teachings of Marx,
\nLenin, Gramsci and Togliatti on websites.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, an understanding of Marxism-Leninism, the crux
\nof the above decree, cannot be easily summed up in political
\nviolence and terror.<\/p>\n
Vladimir Lenin was no Eduard Bernstein, who favored democratic
\nchanges. Yet, communism is not beyond economic, political and
\ncultural analyses.<\/p>\n
The Russian Communists, like their Chinese counterparts,
\npursued violence and terror not because of their ideological
\nallegiance to Marx, but due to social conditions in their own
\ncountry -- an agrarian society, a long tradition of
\nauthoritarianism and the balance of power between the rival
\nBolsheviks and Mensheviks.<\/p>\n
Communism immediately conjures up images of violence, terror
\nand the work of intelligence services, all of which releases
\nloathing and anger. Stalin's Gulag was as bad as Hitler's
\nHolocaust. Anticommunist Augusto Pinochet used DINA to suppress
\nhis political opponents, as communist Lavrenty Beria did with the
\nKGB.<\/p>\n
By calling for revoking the decree, the President may be
\ntrying to break the chains of fetishism. It will serve to
\ndesacralize state apparatuses as tools of political repression.<\/p>\n
Indonesia needs a rational, not Orwellian, anticommunism. It
\nshould be an ideology of antipoverty, against disparity and
\ninjustice.<\/p>\n
Perhaps Abdurrahman may also be unlocking the secrecy of evil
\nin society. It also is an issue of promoting human rights,
\nopening the way for national reconciliation, uncovering the
\ncemetery of truth. One might even find the issue of the mind, the
\nconscience, and the moral of our epoch in his statement:
\n\"democracy makes no distinction between communist and
\nnoncommunist\".<\/p>\n
In developing a discourse on truth and reconciliation, the
\nPresident also appears to believe that acknowledgement of past
\nwrongdoing is even more necessary.<\/p>\n
For sure, it is not without risks. The political stakes
\ninvolved in settling accounts with the past are extraordinarily
\nhigh.<\/p>\n
A fully satisfactory outcome can hardly be expected. Social
\ntensions brought about by the legacy of human rights violations
\ncould linger on for a long time, in civil-military relations, in
\nstate-society relations and in the dynamics of multiparty
\nsystems.<\/p>\n
Political meddling would be unavoidable. More importantly, if
\nthe purpose is to appease victims of the events of 1965 referred
\nto as Gestapu, Indonesia should establish an ad hoc tribunal
\nand\/or commission of inquiry.<\/p>\n
While maximizing gain may be a luxury, the strategy could well
\nbe a matter of minimizing risk.<\/p>\n
Indonesia is now in a catch-22 situation. There is a growing
\nawareness of the fabrication of history for a plethora of self-
\nserving reasons.<\/p>\n
Yet, the overwhelming ignorance of the truth has fanned fears
\nabout a new point of concern. A refined understanding of the past
\nis critical in moving our fetishism from the reductionist view --
\nthat the biggest threat to our national unity is Marxism-Leninism
\n-- to comprehension of social disparity, relative deprivation and
\npolitical opportunism.<\/p>\n
Granted, nothing will be sufficient without economic recovery,
\ninstitutionalization of democratic practices and the supremacy of
\nlaw. Some may argue there is little sense in opening the
\nPandora's box of a communist revival to divide the country when
\nit faces matters that are much more pressing. Still, constructing
\nthe future requires liberating the past. We may have to open a
\nnew chapter without closing the book.<\/p>",
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