Suspected commies want to be allowed in April's election

Suspected commies want to be allowed in April's election

Suherdjoko and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post,
Semarang/Jakarta

Former suspected members of the Indonesia Communist Party (PKI)
are urging the government they be allowed to contest the
legislative election after a court this week ruled part of a law
banning them was invalid.

Sutarko Hadi Wacono, who was previously detained for alleged
involvement in the outlawed party, called on the Purworejo
Provincial Elections Office (KPUD) to restore his name to the
list of candidates for the Central Java legislature.

"The KPUD Purworejo removed my name from the list ... because
it accused me of being involved in the PKI movement in 1965,"
Sutarko said in Semarang, Central Java on Thursday.

The newly established Constitutional Court declared as void on
Tuesday an article in the legislative election law, which banned
former PKI members from contesting the legislative election.

The verdict paves the way for former communist members and
their families to become legislative members and has sparked
calls for their reinstatement as candidates for this year's
elections.

However, the court said on Tuesday the ruling would not be
applied until the 2009 elections, as the deadline for submitting
legislative candidates for this year's election had passed.

Freedom Bull Nationalist Party candidate Sutarko accused the
Purworejo KPUD of arbitrarily banning him from contesting in the
election despite the lack of evidence of his involvement in the
abortive coup d'etat blamed on the PKI in 1965.

"I was acquitted of involvement in the PKI by the Purworejo
military district command in 1967. I have the document (of
acquittal), so why did the KPUD accuse me of involvement in the
outlawed party?" he said.

Another alleged PKI member, Utomo, said he wanted his good
name restored along with his political rights.

"The New Order regime was so cruel to me for years -- I
deserve rehabilitation" said Utomo, who is also a legislative
candidate.

In Jakarta, Golkar leader Akbar Tandjung said he supported a
court ruling former PKI members could contest legislative
elections -- in 2009.

"By 2009 it's possible there will be no more former PKI
members who could contest the elections as they would already be
too old," Akbar said.

Golkar, he said, still believed former communist members
should not participate in any form of political activities in the
country.

PNBK leader Eros Djarot, meanwhile, said his party supported
the court's decision.

"Political rights belong to every citizen and are guaranteed
by the Constitution," he said.

Despite the historical ruling by the Constitutional Court, the
state still bans the participation of former PKI members in the
election of president and vice president. This ruling is set out
in Law No. 23/2003 on the election.

Also still in force is a Provisional People's Consultative
Assembly decree, which outlaws the PKI as a political party and
criminalizes any attempt to disseminate or teach Communist,
Leninist or Marxist philosophies in the country.

The decree was enacted following an abortive national coup
blamed on the PKI, which ended with the extrajudicial killing of
hundreds of thousands of alleged PKI members. It is believed PKI
members also killed many people arbitrarily.

Historians and human rights activists have called on the
government to scrap dozens of existing laws that discriminate
against former PKI members.

The country will hold the legislative elections on April 5 in
which 24 political parties will participate.