Let political exiles return home: Scholar

JAKARTA (JP): Vocal scholar Arief Budiman has called for the government to allow the many overseas Indonesian political exiles linked to the 1965 abortive Communist coup to return home.

His appeal comes on the heels of President Soeharto's decision to grant clemency to three men once tied to the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) after nearly 30 years in prison.

Arief told journalists in Semarang, Central Java, yesterday that the decision to allow those in exile to return, as with the release of the three political prisoners here, should be based on humanitarian grounds.

Three prominent political prisoners connected to the PKI -- former deputy prime minister Soebandrio, 81, Air Force vice marshal Omar Dhani, 71, and police brigadier general S. Soetarto, 77, -- were given special remissions on Friday as part of Indonesia's golden anniversary.

"If the President grants clemency to the three PKI figures, then there is nothing wrong with the government respecting the wishes of those who wish to die here," Arief said of the reported desires of those in exile to spend their last days in Indonesia.

There are an estimated 300 to 400 Indonesians living as political exiles abroad who allegedly had ties to PKI or were afraid to return home due to their communist alliances following the 1965 coup attempt.

Though there is no precise data, it is thought that some 200 reside in Holland and another 100 in Germany and France. There are also some 70 Indonesian communist sympathizers thought to still be in China.

Many have now become stateless citizens because they have failed to report to an Indonesian embassy within a five year period.

Arief noted that while many of them may not be actual communists or PKI members, most were afraid to return home to the tumultuous situation in 1965.

"Many of them were abroad at the time and because of one thing or another they were fearful of returning," he argued.

Legislators and observers have in the past few days underlined that the release of Soebandrio, Omar Dhani and Soetarto was permissible because they were not actual PKI members but merely "fellow travelers."

This point has been further accentuated by the fact that A. Latief, an army officer directly involved in the coup, has not been granted clemency, although he has also applied for it.

Among those exiles who have reportedly expressed a desire to return home is A.M. Hanafi, who was Indonesia's ambassador to Cuba in 1965 and is now living in Paris.

Other notable exiles living in Paris are Sobron Aidit, 61, and Oemar Said.

Sobron is the younger brother of PKI chairman D.N. Aidit, while Oemar was a journalist for a PKI oriented newspaper.

The other former Indonesian ambassadors also in exile are A. Soekrisno, 75, former ambassador to Vietnam and Rumania, and Djawoto, 89, former ambassador to Beijing from 1964-1966. Both now live in Amsterdam.

Apart from allowing those in exile to return, Arief also urged the government to release the many prisoners of conscience still incarcerated throughout the country.

He said he understood the concern of certain sections of society who still consider them a danger, but pointed out that these prisoners are now old men.

There's no need to worry that the communist ideology will grow again in Indonesia, he said, adding that if such a danger did arise there was always the armed forces to repress such threats.

A member of the Muhammadiyah central board, Lukman Harun, concurred that there was little to fear from people like Soebandrio.

"They are old and because of that they can no longer keep up with the developments in politics," Lukman remarked from Semarang.

Nevertheless Lukman still strongly warned against the release of those prisoners who have been identified as die-hard communist or PKI supporters.

Lukman recounted that during a past visit to the Cipinang prison he noticed that Soebandrio and Omar Dhani were keenly involved in religious practices. Some notorious PKI figures such as Sukatno, however, have maintained their allegiance to communism by declaring themselves atheists.

Meanwhile the executive chairman of the Committee for the 50th Independence Anniversary, Emil Salim, said in Jakarta yesterday that more clemencies might be issued.

He did not reveal who or when they would be issued, saying only that it was the complete prerogative of the president.

"Bapak President wants to bring us into an atmosphere of unity," he said without elaborating.(har/mds)