Govt examines memoirs for misinterpretations

Govt examines memoirs for misinterpretations

JAKARTA (JP): The Attorney General's Office yesterday said
that it is currently examining the autobiography of a man who
served as a cabinet minister under former Indonesian president
Sukarno, amid allegations that the book contains dangerous
misinterpretations of the events surrounding the 1965 attempted
communist coup and its aftermath.

The announcement was made by Kadarman, the director for
political affairs of the attorney general's office, while he was
meeting with a group of former student activists who said they
had been dishonored by the book Memoar Oei Tjoe Tat, Pembantu
President Soekarno (Memoirs of Oei Tjoe Tat, Assistant of
President Sukarno).

"Investigators of the Attorney General's Office are studying
Oei Tjoe Tat's memoirs," Kadarman said, as quoted spokesman
Basrief Arief, in response to the demands of the former student
activists.

Oei was one of the cabinet members who were rounded up by the
military when Sukarno's government was dissolved in 1966 at the
peak of the political turmoil which had its origins in the
communist-backed attempted coup of September 1965. Oei was tried
and convicted of playing a role the coup. He was released from
prison in 1977.

The book, which was launched in April and is available only
through friends, rather than from major book shops, was co-edited
by writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer, who himself served many years'
hard labor for allegedly spreading Marxist ideas.

Five members of Fosko 66, a forum grouping former student
leaders who mobilized their colleagues in street demonstrations
in 1966 that led to the downfall of Sukarno, presented a petition
yesterday to the attorney general's office, calling on him to
look into the book.

The delegation was led by the group's chairman Sumarno
Dipodisastro. He was accompanied by a member of the group's board
of patrons, Fahmi Idris; its secretary-general, Isnanu Chalid;
deputy secretary-general Syahlan Pasaribu; and two general
affairs staff, Zulfi Gunawan and Dahwir Bakar.

"The book contains provocative messages and irrelevant
information which are dangerous to the young generation," Sumarno
told reporters after the meeting.

He cited a passage mentioning that the students were used by
the military to mobilize support for the removal of Sukarno from
power.

"How could we have been used by the armed forces, when our
friend Arief Rahman Hakim and some others died in the action
(demonstration)?" he asked.

"The Attorney General's Office should consider banning the
book," he added.

The head of intelligence operations at the attorney general's
office, Gatot Hendrarto, who also attended yesterday's meeting,
said he would immediately deliver the petition to the attorney
general.

Other officials meeting the delegation included head of the
general affairs division, Tarmizi Yunus, and a staff-member of
the attorney general's office, M.J. Anas.

The memoirs, which were written by Oei Tjoe Tat 10 years ago,
were originally intended for his family and close friends. "It
was meant as an explanation of my past political experiences to
my children and grandchildren," Oei said during the book-
launching last April.

On the urging of friends, however, the book was reprinted and
made available to a wider audience.

The autobiography has reportedly been widely distributed, both
in Indonesia and abroad. The publisher, Hasta Mitra, has already
reprinted the book three times to keep up with domestic demand.

Sumarno said Fosko 66 invited Oei to discuss some of the
recollections contained in the book last Saturday.

The author had, he said, stuck firmly to his stand and refused
to change the contents of the book.(imn/anr)