Sukarno's daughter hurt by white paper

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)