Habibie challenged over communist remark

Habibie challenged over communist remark

JAKARTA (JP): Politicians have challenged that President B.J.
Habibie prove his allegation that communism, "Marhaenism" and
socialism -- dubbed by many as Komas -- have really threatened
the nation, warning him against manipulating the issue to
intimidate his political rivals.

They also said on Saturday that poverty, corruption and even
the remnants of elements of former president Soeharto's New Order
regime may actually be more dangerous than communism, which was
losing its popularity even in communist countries.

Chairwoman of the Indonesian Nationalist Party, Supeni, who
describes herself as a fanatic Marhaenist, challenged Habibie to
turn words into deeds and arrest leaders of those three
ideologies.

"If they (the leaders of the three so-called dangerous
ideologies) really existed, why didn't he just arrest them,
because he has the police force, the military intelligence,
before their movement becomes too powerful?" she asked when
contacted by The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

Supeni warned Habibie that the groundless communism label
would not only draw ire of political parties, but also government
officials, and even Indonesian military members as it did in
1960s.

She dismissed Habibie's recent effort to explain away his
remarks. "He can't retract his statement just like that after
hurting people's feelings, especially the supporters of president
Sukarno, who created Marhaenism," she said.

"I think it is strange that he links communism to Marhaenism.
He just wanted to find a scapegoat for his failure to save the
country from chaos," said the veteran politician.

"Maybe he is afraid that Marhaenists will win the general
election," she charged.

In two separate meetings with two youth organizations, Habibie
alleged Komas leaders were attempting to topple the government by
inciting riots and violence. Following a public outcry, Habibie
retracted his statement on Friday.

"Marhaenism is not identical to communism," he then said.

Marhaenism was coined by the country's late founding
president, Sukarno. Derived from the name of a poor farmer,
Marhaen, Sukarno used the name to describe his thoughts on a
range of ideologies.

The expression bears emotional connotations for supporters of
the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, whose leader is
Sukarno's daughter Megawati Soekarnoputri, and several other
parties which call themselves Marhaenists.

Separately, Ida Nasim, the secretary of People's Democratic
Party (PRD) central leadership committee, said it was funny
Habibie talked about communism when the ideology has even lost
its popularity in communist countries.

"The danger of the New Order is much greater than communism,"
said Ida, who claimed his party as a leftist organization.

He acknowledged that the military and government officials had
branded his party a communist party following the violent
takeover of the Indonesian Democratic Party headquarters on July
27 1996. The riot that ensued was, among others things, blamed on
the PRD.

"I don't understand why they accuse us of being communists, as
nearly all PRD leaders were born after the communist (party) was
outlawed in 1967," said Ida.

At the time, Soeharto and senior government officials,
including then Armed Forces (ABRI) chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung and
then ABRI's chief of sociopolitical affairs Lt. Gen. Syarwan
Hamid, accused PRD of masterminding the riot.

"Habibie's statement indicates he was using the New Order's
(tradition of stamping) a political stigma to silence people's
aspiration who opposed its dictatorship," Ida said.

National Awakening Party secretary-general Muhaimin Iskandar
described Habibie's decision to retract his statement on Komas as
a combination of poor political knowledge and a desperate attempt
to retain his power.

"He just wants to find a common enemy in order to maintain his
power, but he forgets that it is even difficult for him to find a
friend," Muhaimin noted.

Muhaimin, claiming to be a Muslim leftist, said that populist
and leftist ideologies are often branded as communists in
Indonesia. He cautioned that Habibie himself is always proud of
his populist economic policies.

"Habibie just wants to shift people's attention from the New
Order's corrupt and authoritarian practices," he warned.

Nahdlatul Ulama deputy secretary-general Arifin Junaidi
described Habibie's statement as funny but also foolish.

"We are facing more dangerous threats, namely poverty,
disintegration and even abuses of the social safety net fund,"
said the leader of Indonesia's largest Islamic organization.
(prb)