Son of former NII leader condemns movement

Sardjono Kartosuwiryo, the son of Sekar Maridjan Kartosuwiryo, the founder of the radical Islamic State of Indonesia (NII) movement, has condemned the movement as irrelevant and says it should be firmly banned.

“The story of NII ended when my father issued a decree that called out to all NII activists to make peace with Indonesia by once again becoming Indonesians,” Sardjono said Sunday night, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Sardjono also said he suspected that those who had become the masterminds behind the present NII structure were political opportunists because none had been associated with his father at the time of the movement's establishment.

“I don’t recognize any of the current NII figures as people who stood by my father back then.”

Sardjono added that his statement may serve as a wake-up call for NII members to adopt Indonesia's Pancasila ideology.

Sardjono had been asked by People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Taufik Kiemas to talk before dozens of NII members in Serang, Banten, on Monday evening, in the hope he could convince them that the NII movement was over.