Unknown group stages anti-communist protest
Unknown group stages anti-communist protest
JAKARTA (JP): A previously unheard-of organization mobilized more than 100 people yesterday, including mothers and children, for a demonstration at the House of Representatives which called on the government to maintain its vigilance against a communist revival.
The "Solidarity Movement of Democratic People" urged the government, the House and the political parties to "cleanse" themselves of communist elements.
The organization did not say who the communists might be, but said that some important state institutions, including the government, and political parties, might have been "infiltrated".
The demonstrators sang patriotic songs and unfurled banners. One poster read "Save this country from Pancasila traitors," while another declared "Pancasila...yes, PKI...no."
The PKI was the Indonesian Communist Party (Partai Komunis Indonesia), which was outlawed in 1966, a year after it was accused of attempting a coup d'etat against former president Sukarno.
The party's members and supporters were jailed and later released, but they have been barred from taking jobs in the civil service, the military and in teaching professions and are not permitted to join political organizations. The military regularly screens the civil service and political parties to find people with past links to the PKI.
"We need to make sure that all state institutions are free from any PKI elements," read a statement distributed by the group during the demonstration.
The group's leader, Bambang Heryanto, demanded to see House Speaker Wahono or one of his deputies, to request the expulsion of House members suspected of past links to the PKI.
His demand was not met.
Bambang said his organization is demanding government clarification over recent allegations that remnants of the PKI had infiltrated political organizations.
"We have been further confused by the official use of the term `formless organization', which has been accused of being behind some of the recent unrest," he said.
The phrase has been used by the military in recent weeks as it alerted the public to what it said were attempts by former PKI members to make a comeback.
Bambang said the government should clarify the situation and come clean if it found any person or organization to have PKI connections.
The protesters dispersed peacefully after one hour.
When interviewed by reporters, many of them said they came from the Grogol, Muara Kapuk and Cengkareng subdistricts of West Jakarta.
Some of the women present admitted that they had been promised payment for taking part in the demonstration.
Khoiriyah, a 44-year-old housewife, told The Jakarta Post she was asked to come on the demonstration by her husband, a member of the group.
"We've been promised Rp10,000 (US4.37) as lunch money," she said.
Bambang denied that the protesters were being paid to participate in the demonstration but admitted to providing them with a free lunch. (01)