'State coould clip rights if needed'

JAKARTA (JP): A democratic national state should have the courage to take the bitter option of stripping the democratic rights from political organizations which mask their destructive goals with democratization demands, President Soeharto said yesterday.

The President issued his warning upon receiving military officers taking part in the 29th regular course held by the National Resilience Institute yesterday. He said that such a decision, which he called a dilemma, should be taken through constitutional means and with the consent of all people.

"The question of how to democratically treat teachings or groups which are anti-democratic in nature is difficult to answer," Soeharto said.

"The problem is whether or not we should give them rights if they intend to give democracy a burial when they come to power," he added.

Indonesia finally found the answer only in 1966, with the outlawing of Marxism-Leninism and the Indonesian Communist Party which had attempted a coup in 1965, according to Soeharto.

The communist party had previously staged a coup attempt against the government in 1948, when the republic was struggling to achieve international recognition after proclaiming independence in 1945.

Minister of Defense and Security Edi Sudradjat and Governor of the National Resilience Institute Lt. Gen. Sofian Effendi joined the get-together at the Bina Graha presidential office yesterday.

Soeharto said, that compared to the 1948 attempt, the 1965 putsch had been far more dangerous because it broke out after thorough preparations and had received ideological and political support from some government figures.

"Based on the undeniable evidence, the Temporary People's Consultative Assembly banned in 1966 Marxism-Leninism/communism and outlawed the communist party and its affiliate organizations," the President said.

Following the abortive coup, the assembly also put Soeharto into power in place of Sukarno.

The President reminded people that Indonesians used up their first 25 years after independence establishing a common stance, refreshing their spirit of nationalism and setting up administrative institutions.

Differences on various issues -- which for a moment were left behind due to the common enemy in the form of colonial aggression -- would need to be settled before the nation could enjoy a better life, according to Soeharto.

"It would be better if all differences were settled through democratic institutions, but this takes time to learn," he said.

Efforts to find a democratic settlement always faced a challenge, according to the President, because another political philosophy which suggested the use of power, riots and even revolution also grew up within society.

Soeharto was referring to Marxism-Leninism.

He said the decision to ban communism 30 years ago was crucial for Indonesia in its bid to cultivate the fertile soil for nationalism and the nation state.

"We can only run a well-planned, directed and controlled development in conditions fully free from communism," Soeharto said.

"That's why we keep an eye on the communist threat, although we have good ties with countries that share that ideology."

Soeharto reiterated the importance of nationalism and the nation state to Indonesia as the world entered a global era.

"The nation state remains the institution most responsible for protecting its citizens and territory. It's impossible to hand over those responsibilities to international bodies," he said. (amd)