Yusril travels to Netherlands to invite home coup exiles

Yusril travels to Netherlands to invite home coup exiles

JAKARTA (JP): In an action which would have been unthinkable
in the last 30 years, Minister of Law and Legislation Yusril Ihza
Mahendra left for the Netherlands Friday night to invite home
Indonesians in self-imposed exile in Europe since the 1965
abortive coup.

Yusril told The Jakarta Post as he was about to board an
Amsterdam-bound plane at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport
that he would hold a meeting with the Indonesian exiles in the
Dutch city on Saturday.

"I was assigned as special envoy by the President to explain
the new stance of the government toward those who were allegedly
involved in the 1965 incident," he said.

The New Order government of Soeharto adopted a hard-line
stance against those allegedly involved in the 1965 abortive coup
by the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). Soeharto came to power
in the attempted coup's wake.

It even extended to relatives of people implicated in the coup
attempt, who often faced restrictions in their daily lives.

Many Indonesians who were studying abroad at the time could
not return home because of their perceived support for the PKI.
Some were studying in then communist states after receiving
scholarships from their governments.

Yusril estimated that about 600 Indonesians, mostly residing
in the Netherlands, were victims of the past government's
unyielding policy. Many have adopted new citizenship.

"That's why I need to discuss the matters with them personally
and with the Dutch authorities," he added.

But he said the actual number of Indonesians forced into exile
and their locations were unknown.

He said that even just a few days ago he received a letter
from an Indonesian in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, about the matter.

The new government of Abdurrahman Wahid has attempted to
effect reconciliation in the country, including from the painful
past of the coup attempt.

Yusril is also due to visit the United States to meet with
Secretary of State Madeleine Allbright in Washington on Jan. 24.
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