Sukarno's daughter hurt by white paper

JAKARTA (JP): A daughter of the late president Sukarno says she is offended by a new government document that suggests that her father defended the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) in the aftermath of the communist-backed aborted coup in 1965.

"As Bung Karno's offspring, I'm offended by the allegation because it tarnishes my family's image," Sukmawati Sukarnoputri said in a telephone interview with The Jakarta Post.

Sukmawati, 43, also plans to file a lawsuit against journalist Mochtar Lubis for his remarks in the latest edition of Sinar magazine saying that Sukarno was behind the coup attempt.

The book Gerakan 30 September -- Pemberontakan Partai Komunis Indonesia, Latar Belakang, Aksi dan Penumpasannya (The September 30 Movement -- the Rebellion of the Indonesian Communist Party, Background, Action and its Crushing) was published by the State Secretariat and became available to the public this week.

The book suggests that the coup attempt which claimed the lives of six Army generals and a junior officer was engineered by PKI. It does not explicitly say Sukarno was involved but details how he defended communism.

The white paper is intended to clarify events surrounding the coup attempt, which has been a subject of debate among international scholars.

Sukarno, according to the book, insisted that the September 30 Movement was an internal Army affair and tried to free the PKI from any guilt in the aftermath of the failed coup.

The book says the plot was engineered by the PKI in its attempt to grab power. The perpetrators abducted and killed the six Army generals who they said were conspiring to take over power from Sukarno.

Sukmawati insists that the attempted coup was orchestrated by the American Central Intelligence Agency who wanted to see Sukarno toppled because of his soft stance on communism.

Acknowledging that she had not read the disputed book but had only seen excerpts from newspapers, she said she wanted the government to explain why Sukarno did not dissolve PKI.

Sukarno's failure to disband the party has been widely interpreted as an indication of his involvement in the coup attempt.

Sukmawati said the political climate was so heated by numerous confrontations at home and overseas after the coup that her father ran out of time. He was stripped of his power before he could deal with the PKI, she asserted.

Sukarno, she said, was not aware of the plan to abduct and assassinate the generals. "He could not afford to lose so many generals," she said, adding that the death of Achmad Yani, one of the generals, was a heavy blow to her father.

Counter

Sukmawati said she plans to counter the official version of her father's stand by writing a book. In the mean time, however, she is preparing to sue Mochtar Lubis.

"I must try to stop campaigns to link Bung Karno to the coup," she said.

Lubis, who was jailed by Sukarno and is a former chief editor of the Indonesia Raya newspaper was quoted in the latest edition of Sinar as saying that Sukarno was "obviously involved".

He described Sukarno's concept to blend nationalism, religion and communism as a "stupid idea" because each component has conflicting principles.

Sukmawati said she believes the way Sukarno is portrayed in the white paper would affect public opinion of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), which is led by her eldest sister Megawati Sukarnoputri.

The Indonesian Nationalist Party (PNI), the dominant faction in the PDI, was founded by Sukarno. PDI openly exploits the former president's lingering popularity to attract potential voters.

PDI senior legislator Sabam Sirait said on a separate occasion, however, that there was no reason to link the book with his party."Besides, PDI doesn't rely on Bung Karno for its popularity," he stressed. (pan)