TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Gatot order on PKI film could create division: PDI-P
Change Size
New chief: Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo (center), accompanied by Presidential Security Detail (Paspampres) commander Brig. Gen. Suhartono (right) and Maj. Gen. Bambang Suswantono (left), speaks to journalists after the Paspampres commander handover ceremony in Jakarta on March 14. Suhartono replaced Bambang, who was appointed as new chief of the Indonesian Navy’s Marine Corps. (Antara/Saptono)
S
ecretary-general of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Hasto Kristiyanto said that Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo could stir up fresh controversy with his order on the screening of the propaganda film Pengkhianatan G30S/PKI (Betrayal of the Communists).
Hasto said that although the TNI commander had the authority to order the screening, the program could in fact create more problems in the society.
"What the PDI-P wants is that we should look to the future by learning from what happened in the past," Hasto said as quoted by tempo.co, adding that a leader should make efforts to unite the country and not create division.
Gatot has ordered TNI personnel to hold screening of Pengkhinatan G30S/PKI in an effort to teach the young generation about the danger of communism.
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has not commented on Gatot's plan.
Pengkhianatan G30SPKI, which is directed by acclaimed director Arifin C. Noer, tells the story of Gen. Soeharto in quashing a coup blamed on the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). In the big-budget film, communists are depicted as godless savages who mutilated military officers in a frenzy.
Last week, while visiting the tomb of Soeharto in Surakarta, Gatot praised the former leader, saying that he should be a role model for all TNI personnel.
