Former student leaders deny fresh allegations of CIA link
Former student leaders deny fresh allegations of CIA link
JAKARTA (JP): A group of former student leaders who played a
pivotal role in toppling president Sukarno in 1966 denied
yesterday fresh allegations that they were paid by the American
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to take to the streets.
Ikatan Keluarga Besar Laskar Ampera Arief Rachman Hakim, an
association of student activists in the mid 1960s, announced
their intention to sue columnist Manai Sophiaan for making the
allegation in his new book about Sukarno published this month.
The association said it was offended by the allegation, which
was also reprinted in the latest edition of Tiara magazine.
"Manai slanders the student activists of 1966," association
chairman Djusril Jusan told a press conference to announce the
plan yesterday.
The latest threat came less than a week after former student
activists grouped in Posko 66 announced a similar plan for the
same allegation.
It is a "by-product" of the glowing controversy Manai has
sparked with his book, Kehormatan Bagi yang Berhak (Honor for the
One who Deserves It), in which he argues that Sukarno was not
involved in the Sept. 30, 1965 coup attempt as widely believed.
The coup, blamed on the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), was
foiled the following day by the Army then led by a young Major
General Soeharto. But six generals who were abducted the night of
Sept. 30, 1965 by the coup perpetrators were brutally murdered.
Manai was ambassador to Moscow between 1964 and 1967 when
Sukarno, condemned by his rivals for not liquidating the PKI for
its coup attempt, was facing political crisis. This eventually
lead to his downfall in 1967 and to the rise of Soeharto, the
current president.
The 80 year old former diplomat appears ready to defend his
book in court as he has appointed a team of lawyers. Purbadi,
Nusyirwan Thabrani and Tambunan will defend him, according to his
spokesman Ki Utomo Darmadi.
Manai also welcomes any proposal to hold dialog with him
concerning the circumstances surrounding the events in 1965 and
1966.
Through court action, Laskar Ampera also means to "straighten-
out" the comments Manai made in the interview claiming that the
New Order government under President Soeharto was "just the same"
as the old one under Sukarno.
It also hopes to correct Manai's support of Sukarno's thesis
saying that the nation needed an alliance of nationalist,
religious and communist groups to survive.
"Does he (Manai) defend Sukarno or PKI?" asked Jusan, from
Indonesian Christian University and former activist of the
Islamic Students Association (HMI).
He alleged that Manai was a defender of Subandrio, Sukarno's
foreign minister who was implicated for communist activity and is
spending the rest of his life behind bars.
Hawaii
Manai was also quoted in the magazine interview saying that
the yellow jackets worn by student demonstrators from the
University of Indonesia were imported from Hawaii.
Yesterday's press conference broke into an open debate with
journalists, mostly the younger ones who did not experience the
bitter days of the 1960s, sympathizing with Manai and questioning
Laskar Ampera's reasoning.
"Why not write a book of your own version of the event instead
of solving the academic problem in court?" shouted a journalist.
Others proposed that the former activists and Manai discuss
their different views amicably, with each bringing supporting
evidence.
On the second proposal, Jusan said he would hold a dialog with
Manai but would go ahead with his plan to bring the case to court
if the writer failed to come up with sufficient evidence.
Acknowledging that he had not read the disputed book, he said
Laskar Ampera also wanted to write its own account of the events
surrounding the coup attempt.
He denied accusations that the motive behind Laskar Ampera's
plan to sue Manai was publicity to lift its standing rather than
anything else. (pan)