'Yellownization' campaign criticized

PURWOKERTO, Central Java: The military is trying to tone down the controversy surrounding the government's "yellownization" program, considered by many to be a covert campaign for the ruling Golkar party.

The local government has been widely criticized for asking people to paint their houses and public facilities yellow, the color of Golkar.

Chief of the regional military command Maj. Gen. M. Yusuf Kartanegara said here Monday that the government would not take action against residents who do not comply with the call.

"People are free to comply or not to comply with it," he said to students of Sudirman University, many of whom have been actively campaigning against the policy of coercion.

Kartanegara called on the public not to overreact to the government program by staging demonstrations, Antara reported.

A flurry of student-led demonstrations against the "yellownization" campaign has taken place in several towns, including Surakarta, Kudus and Purwokerto. (pan)