The government has rejected the findings of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) declaring the 1965 communist purge a gross human rights violation and has refused to apologize for the victims of the atrocity.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto rejected the Komnas HAM conclusion and insisted that the mass killings, which were state-sponsored according to the rights body, were justified to save the country from communists.

“Define gross human rights violation! Against whom? What if it had happened the other way around?” Djoko said on the sidelines of a meeting with the House of Representatives’ budget committee on Monday.

Djoko indicated that the mass killings during the communist purge were justified as they were aimed at protecting the country.

“This country would not be what it is today if it didn...