Honor history, look ahead: Soeharto

Honor history, look ahead: Soeharto

JAKARTA (JP): Glorify history by all means, but get on with
life too.

That's the message from President Soeharto to a group of
bygone student leaders who played a prominent role in defending
the state ideology Pancasila against the onslaught of communism
in the mid-1960s.

"We should not remain as mere admirers of history, no matter
how great it was," Soeharto told the former student leaders."But
we have to rise and start working for today and tomorrow."

"We don't only inherit history. We have to make history," he
said to some 400 participants of the opening of the three-day
congress of the Ikatan Keluarga Besar Laskar Ampera Arief Rachman
Hakim, an association of former student activists of the 1960s.

"We don't want to be entrapped by past history. We have to
learn and gain inspiration from history...but...our task now and
tomorrow is to continue our development effort," Soeharto said.

The group mobilized massive street demonstrations in 1966
against then president Sukarno to demand that the Indonesian
Communist Party (PKI) be outlawed. The party was blamed for the
plot to take power on Sept. 30, 1965.

The party was banned on March 11, 1966, at the initiative of
Soeharto, then still a young Army general, after he was given
power by Sukarno to undertake steps to restore peace and order.

Soeharto told the former activists yesterday that theirs was a
movement in defense of the state ideology Pancasila against
communism's growing influence in the country.

The association, according to Soeharto, "was born as the
guardian of the mandate of the new Order."

The association grabbed the limelight recently following a
senior columnist's allegation that their anti-sukarno
demonstration in 1966 was funded by American Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA).

The association pledged last week that they would file suit
for slander against Manai Sophiaan, whose book Kehormatan Bagi
Yang Berhak (Honor for the One Who Deserves It) exempted Sukarno
from any involvement with the communists.

Manai was reported by Tiara magazine to also have said that
the students' yellow jackets were "made in Hawaii" and that their
street demonstration against communism were "mere parades".

The association's complaint was filed this week.

One former activist, Minister of Public Housing Akbar
Tandjung, said last week that the students' movement, which
eventually toppled the old regime and ushered in the New Order
era, was "pure and spontaneous, solely to defend Pancasila".

Soeharto said in his speech yesterday that Tritura, three
demands against Sukarno's regime made by the students at the
time, "holds a special place" in the nation's heart.

The three demands were the abolition of the PKI, the sweeping
out of communist elements from Sukarno's cabinet, and the
reduction of prices of basic commodities.

Soeharto said the demands reflected the students' wish to
defend Pancasila, to build a government which was loyal to the
state ideology, and for economic reforms.

"Tritura was born because of the youths...proving yet again
how great was the role of the youths in the nation's struggle,
development and growth," he said.

Soeharto said the true essence of development is the
development of the people and society. "This means that
Indonesian people are both the actors and the products of
development," he said.

"Through development, we keep on striving to increase the
quality of life of our people," he said. Therefore, "We need
discipline, self confidence, skills and professionalism in
managing our resources, as well as the society's initiative and
creativity."

Soeharto also said that to build the future, the youths should
develop their self confidence, "spirit of professionalism", self-
reliance and creativity. (swe)