House against seizure of 'leftist books'
House against seizure of 'leftist books'
JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives gave a moral boost
on Tuesday to groups of people who have defended their right to
read and write books on communism, Marxism, or Leninism.
Receiving hundreds of students and activists from the Alliance
for Freedom to Think and Speak (AKBB), House Deputy Speaker
Muhaimin Iskandar and House Commission II for home and legal
affairs deputy chairman Hamdan Zoelva expressed support for their
cause.
Muhaimin and Hamdan termed the planned removal of leftist
books an anarchic action that ought to be stopped.
They noted that only security officers had the right to
conduct a raid.
"We all agree that searching for and removing books by any
group is an anarchic action that violates the regulations. We
condemn such action. The people should learn to trust the law
enforcement process," Muhaimin said.
Hamdan added that although he was against the production of
leftist books, he totally disagreed with the plans to search for
and remove them.
"Although, personally I reject the production of books that
promote communism, we should teach people to respect the law, as
it would be very dangerous if people continued to take the law
into their own hands," Hamdan said at the meeting.
He added that the House will ask for a consultation meeting
with the National Police chief concerning the threats and planned
raids.
Hundreds of students, joined by noted scholar Franz Magnis
Suseno and noted women activists Ratna Sarumpaet and Jajang C.
Noer, staged rallies here, protesting the planned raids.
They started the rally in front of the National Police
headquarters in South Jakarta, and then moved to the House
compound to seek support from the House.
Several organizations also joining the rally included the
Muhammadiyah youth organization and the students' executive board
of the Syarif Hidayatullah State Institute of Islamic Studies.
The controversy over "leftist" books started early this month
when a group of people called the Islam Youth Movement (GPI)
threatened to conduct raids against those books on May 20 to
commemorate National Awakening day.
To anticipate the threat, many major book stores across the
country removed those books from their shelves and the police in
several provinces even "helped" by collecting them from the
stores for "safekeeping".
However, so far the police have yet to conduct any action
against those launching the threats, even though this has caused
anxiety among the people. (dja)