LEGAL ACTION AGAINST THE SPREAD OF COMMUNIST SYMBOLS MUST BE SUPPORTED

By : Wildan Nasution

National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti revealed on Tuesday that Jokowi had ordered the police and Indonesian Military (TNI), the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) and the Attorney General's Office (AGO) to take legal action against the spread of communist symbols.

Police and TNI personnel have cracked down on recent discussions and film screenings on the 1965 tragedy, which is believed to have claimed at least 500,000 lives, as well as vendors selling communism-related merchandise. The order comes amid crackdowns by the police and military over the alleged rise of support for communism in the country.

Meanwhile, activists have condemned President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's instructions for security officials to take legal action against anyone suspected of distributing communist symbols amid.

The instruction was counterproductive given the government's commitment to shed light on the 1965 anticommunist massacres, advocacy director of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta) Bahrain said on Thursday.

"As the president, Jokowi must do something. Now, while he wants to achieve reconciliation [for the victims of 1965], he makes weird statements like that," Bahrain told journalists at a press conference.

Haris Azhar from the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) also questioned the order. It could be [misused as] a tool for anyone to conduct violence in the name of anticommunism, he told newsportal kompas.com on Thursday.

Moreover, activists questioned the increasing involvement of the military in civilian affairs amid attempts to prevent a so-called revival of communism. "The military doesn't have the right to arrest civilians," Alghiffari Aqsa, the director of LBH Jakarta said.

He was referring to members of the East Jakarta Military District Command, who seized several copies of a book by Hermawan Sulistiyo entitled Palu Arit di Ladang Tebu (Hammer and Sickle in the Sugar Cane Field) from a store in Cawang, East Jakarta, on May 3. The TNI personnel also confiscated T-shirts featuring a hammer and sickle logo.

Furthermore, the Ternate Military District Command in North Maluku arrested four activists of the Alliance of Indigenous People (AMAN) on Tuesday on the back of the possession of books and T-shirts related with leftist movements, Tempo.co reported.

Separately, Presidential Spokesman Johan Budi SP said Jokowi had also asked authorities to pay attention to human rights and the freedom of expression in the enforcement of the orders. The President had received reports that security personnel had overreacted to the issue, Johan said on Thursday, as reported by kompas.com.

Must be Supported

Despite Jokowi’s order to Police, TNI and BIN to take legal action against the spread of communist symbols was criticized by some of activist, actually there didn’t any mistake from Jokowi’s order because the efforts to spread communist symbols or communist imagery can be interpretated as the efforts to support communist revive in Indonesia. These facts is endangered for our ideology Pancasila.

Nowadays, if all of efforts which is purposed for communist come back is still running and nothing efforts which country must be done to tackle it can be endangered for national security, because the rightist and leftist in Indonesia are potential to fight.

Now Indonesia is actually in the situation of  silent confrontation between the group who are sympathizer to the Communist (the Leftist) and the non communist group especially the nationalist and the religious group of people (the Rightist). The terminology of the "tolerance group" against the "in-tolerance group" now is starting to be popular issue in the political life. "The tolerance group" is the group who  based on human right issue to tolerate the activities of the leftist such as making movie film about the concentration camp of the leftist in Buru  island during the early years of the New Order period. And the "in-tolerance group"  are mostly the nationalist and the religious group who opposed such kind of the leftist activities.

Democratically to prevent the confrontation between the communist supporters and the non communist group to explode into the open conflict the Government is always trying to remind all the members of this nation to remember to the national ideology formulated by the founding fathers namely  Pancasila.

This  effort  are mainly executed firmly by the Security apparatus who are always to act based on Law and regulations. Recently the situation is felt increasingly sensitive and vulnerable because various phenomena concerning the increasing activities of the leftist and the reaction of the rightist are happening. So, all of the facts about the rise of communist communities in Indonesia can be triggered uncertainty situation including the possibility of coup which is pushed by uncapability from president to tackle these problems.

Furthermore, it is very emberrasing if some of Indonesian activist and academia who are supporting communist communities to comeback in Indonesia. These facts has shown to us the communist supporters or communist symphatizer were existed in all of level society where they are often in the name of academic freedom and freedom of speech to defend the communist group’s interest.

However, Jokowi’s order to the security and an intelligence apparatus to take legal action against the efforts of communist communities to spread their symbols and their influences are the right one decision. Jokowi’s order is also called as the state decision so that every party in Indonesia must be supported it and if every party which is refusing those decision could be stamped as state enemy. The alacrity and the firmly attitude on these case must be implemented because we have been made common consensus to avoid a communist revive in our lovely country, Indonesia. Last but not least, a message for our president isn’t hesitate to defend and to protect our national interest from a communist communities coup. We are already to support you, President Jokowi. God blessing us forever.

*The writer is a political and law observer. Earned his master from Tridinanti University in Palembang, South Sumatera.

*Seluruh isi tulisan menjadi tanggungjawab penulis.