Heading off communist threat

Heading off communist threat

From Pelita

Mention of "communism" immediately causes trauma for Indonesians because of past saddening experiences, like the Sept. 30, 1965 Indonesian Communist Party attempted coup in which seven Army generals who met a gruesome death at the hands of party members.

In consideration of the above, I would like to remind the political elite and the authorities to be watchful of communist movements which are out to infiltrate the political party and other organizations in Indonesia. The slyness of people who adhere to communism is not immediately apparent.

We can see this if we observe the statements made by members of the political elite, who tend to push the Indonesian Military (TNI) into a tight corner. Those holding communist ideology see TNI as PKI's main enemy because the latter always obstructs and deters their bad intentions.

In the endeavors to corner TNI, they resort to tricks using sugary words to cajole the people as an instrument or a weapon, to accuse the security forces of TNI and the Police (Polri) of being perpetrators of violence and atrocities.

We must all be observant and think with common sense so we will not swallow the sweet words expressed by members of the political elite who are acting out of their own personal interest.

MUHAMMAD DONG

Jakarta