'Recent unrest may be work of communists'

'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)