Ex-PKI members' right

Ex-PKI members' right

From Koran Tempo

The Constitutional Court on Feb. 24 decided to annul article
60(g) of Law No. 12/2003 on general elections, restoring the
constitutional right for (suspected) ex-Indonesian Communist
Party (PKI) members and their relatives to run for legislative
posts.

This decision constitutes a legal breakthrough, which gives
certainty to the rights of former political detainees
particularly ex-PKI members. It also enhances the exercise of
human rights and democracy in Indonesia.

However, the decision has prompted protests from certain
groups, who ostensibly fear a potential threat to the unitary
state of Indonesia, based on the PKI's historical perceptions.

Though anything that smells of communism is like an allergy to
be avoided for most people here, as a country upholding human
rights and law, we should respect the court's pronouncement,
while remaining vigilant against any attempt to revive communism.

However, that court decision is enough reform and should not
be followed by a revocation of the ban on education or
distribution of Marxist/Leninist/Communist material -- a ban
which was imposed by the People's Consultative Assembly in 1966.

RIDWAN SALIM
Jakarta