Military has no objection to 'Marsinah' film

Military has no objection to 'Marsinah' film

SURABAYA: The Brawijaya Military Command overseeing East Java has no objection to the film Marsinah screening in numerous theaters in the province, says a local military officer.

"After watching the film, we have no objection to it and are willing to let people form their own opinion," Lt. Col. Djoko Agus, spokesman for the military command, said here on Saturday.

The controversial film, the script of which was written by director Gusti Randa and which was produced by Slamet Rahardjo, is based on the murder of labor activist Marsinah after she led a labor strike at a watch factory PT Catur Putra Surya in the East Java town of Sidoarjo on May 8, 1993.

Both the government and the Indonesian Military have warned the producer against misrepresenting the facts to avoid negative reactions from the public, especially workers, in the province.

The local military gave the green light to the film after its preview at a theater in the city last Friday.

Besides centering on the role of the factory's personnel manager in handling the case, the film also shows how servicemen from the Sidoarjo military subdistrict used electricity to interrogate Marsinah before her mutilated body was found in a hardwood forest in the regency.

Several labor unions have called on the government to set May 8, instead of May 1, as Labor Day in Indonesia. --Antara