Pramoedya book banning protested

Pramoedya book banning protested

JAKARTA (JP): The Central Java government's decision to
withdraw a book by Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Cerita Dari Blora, or
Story from Blora, drew protests from a man of letters, a human
rights campaigner and the book's publisher.

H.B. Yassin, human rights activist H.J.C. Princen and
publisher Hasjim Rachman of Hasta Mitra said the book does not
contain communist messages nor does it cite a conflict between
Pramoedya and the government, as the authorities claim.

Yassin, Princen and Hasim were responding to an order handed
down by the Central Java Prosecutor's Office last week to have
all bookstores in the area remove copies of the book from their
shelves.

The chief of the prosecutor's office, Harry Moerdiyono, said
that the book was officially banned in 1976 but that it
reappeared in 1994 and now had to be withdrawn from circulation.

The Central Java government believes the book contains
political messages which could undermine Pancasila, the state
ideology, and the 1945 Constitution.

Pramoedya, one of Indonesia's best-known writers, was jailed
for four years before being exiled to Buru island in Maluku from
1969 until 1979 for his alleged communist activities.

The government has banned most of his books. His latest book
entitled Nyanyi Sunyi Seorang Bisu, or Silent Song of a Dumb Man,
was published this month. The original version was published in
Dutch.

Yassin, one of Indonesia's most accomplished writers, told The
Jakarta Post that it was no longer relevant to make an issue of
communism in Indonesian literature.

"Time has passed," he said when asked if it is still relevant
nowadays to ban a literary work for fear of latent communist
danger.

Yassin, who wrote the introduction to the book, suggested that
the government seek advice from various circles, including
literary figures, before it decides to ban a literary work.

Hasjim said that Cerita dari Blora was first published by the
state-owned Balai Pustaka in the 1950s and that he was unaware of
the original ban. As a result, Hasjim authorized Hasta Mitra to
reprint 2,500 copies of the work last year.

"I'm not sure which government the book offends (the old or
the new order)," he told the Post.

Princen, who read the book in 1952 as a member of parliament,
said that the work is the author's account of the independence
struggle in the 1940s and opposition to the communist rebellion
in Madiun, East Java, in 1948.

Princen, chairperson of the Institute for the Defense of Human
Rights, said he plans to lodge a protest over the ban with the
ministry of justice and the Central Java Prosecutor's
Office. (pan)