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No need to apologize for 1965 communist purge: FPI
Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) has said that it is forbidden to apologize to the victims of the 1965 communist purge
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Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) has said that it is forbidden to apologize to the victims of the 1965 communist purge.
According to FPI Patron Muhammad Rizieq Shihab, known as Habib Rizieq, an apology for the 1965 purge will lead to the rise of a communist ideology and threaten Muslims.
"If you [President "Jokowi" Widodo] apologize, then the state must pay compensation of Rp 1 billion [US$68,000]. If there are 3 million families that means Rp 3 quadrillion. The PKI could rise again," exclaimed Rizieq before screening the movie Pengkhianatan G30S in Majlis Talim Revolusi Anwarul Hidayah hall in Jakarta on Wednesday.
If the government apologizes, he added, it would mean the PKI had done nothing wrong, implying that the purge was the fault of NU and its youth wing, and also the fault of the police and military.
"If the PKI is not guilty, it means they deserve rehabilitation. And the consequence is that the communist party will rise again" said Rizieq.
Moreover, he said, all assets of PKI members and sympathizers would need to be returned, if there were an apology, including their houses and land. The state would also need to pay compensation for each victim.
Earlier, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said the government would not apologize to the victims of the 1965 communist purge and instead would focus on a suitable format in accordance with Indonesia's recent condition. (bbn)
