Thirty years after

It is perhaps a bit ironic that of late, three decades after the Army crushed and outlawed the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) for its part in the bloody coup of October 1965, many people here are still wondering if the PKI has actually been wiped out at all. Just hearing or reading our officials persistent warnings against the latent danger of communism, one might think that somehow the communist specter is still very much alive and kicking these days.

Following the collapse of the communist regimes of Eastern Europe and the transformation of China and Vietnam, which started following the capitalist path in the early 1990s, the warning somehow seems hollow, particularly because the authorities have not come up with enough solid evidence to support their claims.

Yet, suddenly, in the last several months the warnings have been amplified by a hundred decibels. Armed Forces Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung, for example, last month advised all regional military commanders to raise the level of their alertness to what he termed "increasing communist and leftist activities in Indonesia".

One of the arguments cited for the need to always be vigilant against the communist threat is that "it is only the communist countries that fell apart, but communism has not crumbled". Another indication that the communists and leftists are on the rise, according to some officials, is the publication of memoirs by some leftist figures in the last several months, which allegedly tend to whitewash their relationship with the coup.

The persistent stance taken by well-known writer and this year's Magsaysay Award winner Pramoedya Ananta Toer regarding his leftist past has been cited as proof that he remains a "diehard". Some officials also have warned of the danger of the "young communists" who use the issues of human rights and the existing social gap as a front for their activities.

To many people, however, the whole controversy is simply confusing. It was only a few weeks ago that the government at last bowed to popular demand to phase out the special ET (eks tahanan politik, or former political detainees) mark from the identity cards of some 1.3 million former communists. There is no denying that this constituted a policy relaxation towards the former communists. But then, why are the authorities at the same time calling for greater alertness.

One explanation could be that three decades after the communist coup, many of our officials are still incapable of freeing themselves from the phenomenon of "communist phobia". Yet, this sounds absurd. Poor as we were in 1965, we still succeeded in crushing the communist coup. Now we are much stronger and certainly in much better shape. Then, why should we be wary of the remnants of the PKI?

We think that to continue to portray communists, or the PKI remnants, as dangerous and immortal foes is to inadvertently build a myth around them. Actually, what we should be doing is to build confidence among the people so that we will be capable of dealing with any threats coming from whatever direction.

The authorities should also come up with more evidence to back up their claim that communist activities are on the rise. We are afraid that without proper evidence many of our well-educated young people, who have no experience whatsoever with the communists, will think that the repeated warnings are just an excuse to justify continuing human rights restrictions.

After 30 years, we are also aware of the fact that the coup is still surrounded by plenty of mysteries. There are enough murky holes around it to fill several history books. Despite an official white book and a dozen or more accounts on the coup written mostly by foreign writers, there are many controversies that need to be explained.

Therefore, we support the idea of a thorough study on this national tragedy. Perhaps, when we have acquired a better understanding of the coup, we can finally shake the trauma of conscience. Otherwise we are sure to be haunted by this one specter indefinitely.