White book on 1965 PKI coup attempt published

JAKARTA (JP): The government has published the long-promised white book on the communist coup attempt in 1965. The 293-page book, which was published on Oct. 1, the day Indonesia lamented about the tragedy, is entitled Gerakan 30 September, Pemberontakan Partai Komunis Indonesia (The September 30 Movement, a Rebellion by the Indonesian Communist Party).

The book also contains 120 pages of appendix and bibliography. It is published by PT Citra Lamtoro Gung Persada, a publishing company owned by Hardyanti Indra Rukmana, President Soeharto's eldest daughter.

The book, however, does not contain any picture of the communist brutality during the abortive coup in which six senior army generals were slain, Republika daily reported yesterday.

Minister of State Secretariat Moerdino says in the introductory note that the book had been written to provide Indonesians with first-hand information on the planned threat from the communists.

The government has long planned to publish the white book and the need for such an account has been voiced lately after a senior columnist published his own version of the 1965 coup bid.

Manai Sophiaan, former activist of President Sukarno's Indonesian National Party, says in his book, entitled Kehormatan Bagi yang Berhak (Honor for the One Who Deserves It), that the late president was not involved in the coup.

The former Indonesian ambassador to the Soviet Union under Sukarno's government, also accuses the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of financing local students in their movement to help topple Sukarno.

Mania's book has provoked protests from former student leaders.

Republika, also reported that the book also reproduces the text from the famous document on the special authority given by Sukarno to Gen. Soeharto on March 11, 1966. Soeharto, then army chief of staff, used the authority to ban the Communist Party.

The whereabouts of the original copy of the document has long been a mystery to many Indonesians.

The newspaper said the manuscript of the white book was completed in 1990 but it took four years for another team to re- view it.

The team comprised officials from the State Secretariat, the National Intelligence Coordinating Body, the National Archives and the Ministry of Information. (tis)