ABRI to monitor freed prisoners
JAKARTA (JP): The Armed Forces, accepting President Soeharto's decision to release three political prisoners linked with the 1965 communist coup, said yesterday that it will continue to monitor their activities once they are out of jail.
"They will be monitored and given guidance, not only by the government and the Armed Forces (ABRI), but more importantly by the people in their surroundings," ABRI's chief spokesman, Brig. Gen. Suwarno Adiwijoyo, told The Jakarta Post yesterday.
"But you have to bear in mind that although they may no longer pose any threat, we have to remain alert against the latent danger of communism, and the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI)," Suwarno said.
He was commenting on the government's announcement to grant clemency to Soebandrio, Omar Dhani and Raden Soegeng Soetarto, all of whom will walk free on Aug. 15.
Armed Forces Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung last month warned that releasing political prisoners convicted for the 1965 abortive coup could revive the specter of a communist comeback. A number of senior politicians, including House Speaker Wahono, supported Feisal's position.
Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono, who announced the President's decision, stressed that the three "were not PKI" and were convicted for facilitating the rebellion.
Asked whether ABRI is unhappy with the decision, Suwarno explained that the granting of amnesty or clemency is the full prerogative of the President.
The decision was made "after the President heard the recommendations of various parties, including ABRI...and after studying the changes of their attitudes and of the potential dangers if they were released."
He pointed out that Feisal and Minister of Defense and Security Edi Sudradjat were among those the President consulted, as well as a number of other officials.
"ABRI's attitude towards communism remains the same. ABRI will never forgive the communists," he said, echoing Gen. Feisal's remarks last month. "This attitude is the logical consequence after two communist rebellions in 1948 and 1965, two events that left deep scars."
"Communism may have fallen in the Soviet Union and a number of East European countries, but as an ideology, it will never die. Marxist teachings and communist ideology are still alive in some countries like China and Vietnam," Suwarno said.
The ideology will remain and it could surface in different forms, he said. "This is what we have to watch out for. We must never let down our guard."(rms)