Thirty years after<\/p>\n
It is perhaps a bit ironic that of late, three decades after
\nthe Army crushed and outlawed the Indonesian Communist Party
\n(PKI) for its part in the bloody coup of October 1965, many
\npeople here are still wondering if the PKI has actually been
\nwiped out at all. Just hearing or reading our officials
\npersistent warnings against the latent danger of communism, one
\nmight think that somehow the communist specter is still very much
\nalive and kicking these days.<\/p>\n
Following the collapse of the communist regimes of Eastern
\nEurope and the transformation of China and Vietnam, which started
\nfollowing the capitalist path in the early 1990s, the warning
\nsomehow seems hollow, particularly because the authorities have
\nnot come up with enough solid evidence to support their claims.<\/p>\n
Yet, suddenly, in the last several months the warnings have
\nbeen amplified by a hundred decibels. Armed Forces Chief Gen.
\nFeisal Tanjung, for example, last month advised all regional
\nmilitary commanders to raise the level of their alertness to what
\nhe termed \"increasing communist and leftist activities in
\nIndonesia\".<\/p>\n
One of the arguments cited for the need to always be vigilant
\nagainst the communist threat is that \"it is only the communist
\ncountries that fell apart, but communism has not crumbled\".
\nAnother indication that the communists and leftists are on the
\nrise, according to some officials, is the publication of memoirs
\nby some leftist figures in the last several months, which
\nallegedly tend to whitewash their relationship with the coup.<\/p>\n
The persistent stance taken by well-known writer and this
\nyear's Magsaysay Award winner Pramoedya Ananta Toer regarding his
\nleftist past has been cited as proof that he remains a \"diehard\".
\nSome officials also have warned of the danger of the \"young
\ncommunists\" who use the issues of human rights and the existing
\nsocial gap as a front for their activities.<\/p>\n
To many people, however, the whole controversy is simply
\nconfusing. It was only a few weeks ago that the government at
\nlast bowed to popular demand to phase out the special ET (eks
\ntahanan politik, or former political detainees) mark from the
\nidentity cards of some 1.3 million former communists. There is no
\ndenying that this constituted a policy relaxation towards the
\nformer communists. But then, why are the authorities at the same
\ntime calling for greater alertness.<\/p>\n
One explanation could be that three decades after the
\ncommunist coup, many of our officials are still incapable of
\nfreeing themselves from the phenomenon of \"communist phobia\".
\nYet, this sounds absurd. Poor as we were in 1965, we still
\nsucceeded in crushing the communist coup. Now we are much
\nstronger and certainly in much better shape. Then, why should we
\nbe wary of the remnants of the PKI?<\/p>\n
We think that to continue to portray communists, or the PKI
\nremnants, as dangerous and immortal foes is to inadvertently
\nbuild a myth around them. Actually, what we should be doing is to
\nbuild confidence among the people so that we will be capable of
\ndealing with any threats coming from whatever direction.<\/p>\n
The authorities should also come up with more evidence to back
\nup their claim that communist activities are on the rise. We are
\nafraid that without proper evidence many of our well-educated
\nyoung people, who have no experience whatsoever with the
\ncommunists, will think that the repeated warnings are just an
\nexcuse to justify continuing human rights restrictions.<\/p>\n
After 30 years, we are also aware of the fact that the coup is
\nstill surrounded by plenty of mysteries. There are enough murky
\nholes around it to fill several history books. Despite an
\nofficial white book and a dozen or more accounts on the coup
\nwritten mostly by foreign writers, there are many controversies
\nthat need to be explained.<\/p>\n
Therefore, we support the idea of a thorough study on this
\nnational tragedy. Perhaps, when we have acquired a better
\nunderstanding of the coup, we can finally shake the trauma of
\nconscience. Otherwise we are sure to be haunted by this one
\nspecter indefinitely.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/thirty-years-after-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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