'Recent unrest may be work of communists'

JAKARTA (JP): Recent incidents of public unrest, including this week's attack on the house of an alleged murderer in East Jakarta, bear the hallmarks of communist provocation, a senior government official said yesterday.

The government is looking into the possibility that these incidents were the work of certain "formless" organizations, Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security Soesilo Soedarman told reporters after holding a meeting with officials under his supervision.

The methods used resembled those used by the now outlawed Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), he said.

"The PKI style of setting groups against one another and spreading wild rumors has become the preferred method of these `formless' organizations to aggravate the situation," Soesilo was quoted by Antara as saying.

They have incited public anger and will exploit every opportunity available to sow disunity, discord and hatred against the government, he said.

The PKI was one of the largest political parties in Indonesia before it was banned in March 1966, six months after the abortive coup which the military blamed on the party.

Soesilo said there is a possibility that these formless organizations are connected with the international communist movement "which is entering the country like a ghost".

Soesilo cited as an example the recent public anger at the brutal murder of the family members of Rohadi, a Jakarta teacher. Local tension culminated in Rohadi's neighborhood, where two houses believed to belong to the murderers and their accomplices were attacked.

President Soeharto last week warned the public of the emergence of "formless" communist organizations. He added that the organizations usually prey on young people and that they often conduct their activities behind the veil of promoting human rights and democracy.

Soesilo said yesterday that the government is investigating the existence of these invisible organizations and the people behind them.

"We are investigating everything, including the people who stirred chaos during the departure of haj pilgrims a few months ago," he said. "The Minister of Religious Affairs may have accepted responsibility for the chaos, but we still have to investigate who stirred the confusion."

Thousands of would-be pilgrims could not depart to Saudi Arabia for the haj pilgrimage in April because of problems with their visas.

Meanwhile, Megawati Soekarnoputri, the chairman of the minority Indonesian Democratic Party, demanded yesterday that the government explain precisely what it means by the term "formless organization".

"Every organization has a form and is based on regulations," Megawati told The Jakarta Post in Semarang.

The term could lead to various interpretations, she added.

Law expert Muladi, a member of the National Commission on Human Rights, also cautioned the government against quickly blaming former PKI members or their offspring of being behind the "formless" organizations.

He said in Semarang yesterday that former PKI members and their families would probably become prime suspects because they are perceived to have the motive -- grudge.

But they should not be accused as such unless there is proof, he said. "We have to respect the family of PKI members who have become defenders of Pancasila now. We must not discriminate against them," said Muladi, who is also rector of the Semarang- based Diponegoro University.

Earlier this month the military said that former PKI members were active again in trying to disturb national security and order. (31/har)