Communist, leftist activity seen increasing: Feisal

Communist, leftist activity seen increasing: Feisal

JAKARTA (JP): Armed Forces Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung has
advised all regional military commanders to raise their alertness
to what he says is are increasing communist and leftist
activities in Indonesia.

"There are signs indicating an increase in their activities,"
Feisal was quoted by Antara as saying in the West Javanese
capital Bandung yesterday.

Addressing several hundred military officers, Feisal said that
the rise in subversive activities is being seen throughout the
country. He called on local military commanders to intensify
surveillance and monitoring of these activities.

The government outlawed the Indonesian Communist Party in 1965
after blaming it for a bloody coup attempt. Since then the
country has been gripped by a phobia about communism, with all
literary or symbolic references to the movement being
categorically banned.

Until last month, former Communist Party members and suspected
sympathizers imprisoned after the 1965 coup had to endure an "ET"
stamp on their identification cards, signifying that they were
former political detainees.

According to Feisal, the current rise of communist and leftist
activities must be met by increased shrewdness on the part of the
Armed Forces.

Also yesterday, the commander of West Java's Siliwangi
military command, Maj. Gen. Tayo, said there were indications
that communists and leftists were on the rise in his province.

Tayo said these included groups who wanted to form a Pasundan
National Kingdom or an Indonesian Islamic State.

In response Tayo's report, Feisal instructed the regional
commander to tighten security and be watchful against such
activities.

"More regular inspections have to be carried out; and not just
in West Java but throughout Indonesia," Feisal ordered.

Liberal

On the subject of internal threats, Feisal also issued a
warning in relation to what he called the many "trouble makers"
who he said have risen lately to take advantage of Indonesia's
50th anniversary celebrations to further their own goals.

"The issues they often bring to the fore are human rights,
labor and environmental issues under the cover of liberal
thought," the Armed Forces commander said.

Without identifying the "trouble makers," Feisal said that
certain groups had exploited privileges and opportunities given
to them to put forward new ideas which are conceptually
inconsistent with the state ideology Pancasila.

Feisal said that, as the Armed Forces celebrate their golden
jubilee on Oct. 5, the trouble-making groups will again show
themselves, raising issues such as human rights.

"As commander of the Armed Forces, I am instructing all ranks
of the military, employees, and the greater family of the Armed
Forces to remain vigilant and alert to this tendency," he said.

Feisal then put forward his thoughts on human rights and
democracy.

Democracy, the general said, has both universal and local
values. Thus, despite there being a universal ideal, local norms
that exist in respective states must also be taken into account.

"Because of that there is no democratic form in this world
which applies universally," he said, adding that forcing a state
to accept a particular type of democracy without considering the
socio-cultural traits of that nation would be undemocratic.

In efforts to contribute to the narrowing of the social
economic gap, Feisal said, the Armed Forces was trying to
increase awareness of this issue through various dialogs with
socio-political organizations.

"This is important because it helps to create a common
perception on the direction of development to overcome the
problems we face," he said.

He added that efforts such this would also help answer critics
of the Armed Forces' dual function, which allots it both a
military and a political role.(mds)