Pressure mounts to sue senior columnist Manai

Pressure mounts to sue senior columnist Manai

JAKARTA (JP): Pressure mounted during the weekend to sue
senior columnist Manai Sophiaan for suggesting that student
leaders in the 1960s received funding from the American Central
Intelligence Agency to stage street protests against president
Sukarno.

Abdul Gafur, a senior Golkar politician who began his
political career as a student leader in the mid-1960s, was the
latest to join the call to sue Manai for the "slanderous" remarks
made in his book about the late president.

Gafur, former minister of youth and sports and presently
deputy chairman of Golkar executive board, told reporters on
Saturday that Manai has twisted the facts about the CIA link.

"He should be sued so that he can try to prove his allegations
in court," he said.

The massive student demonstrations in 1966 were prompted by
Sukarno's reluctance to disband the Indonesian Communist Party
(PKI) after it failed in its bid for power in September 1965.

The students rallied behind Army general Soeharto, who
subsequently replaced Sukarno in March 1967.

Gafur also challenged Manai to an open dialog about the
incident surrounding the coup attempt and the eventual downfall
of Sukarno. "If he has guts, then let us have a dialog," he said.

The renewed controversy about the CIA role was sparked by
Manai's latest book Kehormatan Bagi Yang Berhak (Honor for the
One who Deserves It) in which he argued that Sukarno was not
involved in the Sept. 30, 1965 coup attempt as many have
suggested.

Later in an interview with a local magazine, Manai said the
students were financed by the CIA and that the yellow jackets
worn by demonstrators from the University of Indonesia came from
Hawaii.

Gafur, an alumnus of the prestigious university, denied this.

He said that food supplies for the demonstrators did not come
from CIA but from the "Indonesian people who were still committed
to the Pancasila ideology and the 1945 Constitution."

Clean

When asked about Sukarno's involvement in the coup, Gafur said
the late president was clean and that he was not a communist.
"But it is clear that he never wanted to liquidate PKI and always
defended it," he added.

Gafur who once met with Sukarno with 10 other colleagues
during the demonstration said the president defended PKI and
insisted on giving it a chance.

He said that whether or not Sukarno was involved in the coup
will always remain a controversy because he was never brought to
court. Sukarno died in 1970.

Two organizations grouping these former student leaders took
offense at Manai's suggestion and are now planning to sue the
writer for slander.

Manai appears to be prepared to meet his critics in court. On
Friday he appointed three lawyers to represent him should these
student organizations go ahead with the planned lawsuit.

Manai was ambassador to Moscow between 1964 and 1967 when
Sukarno was president. While maintaining that he was not
personally close with the former president, he said he was
"ideologically" close. (par)