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Don't give communism a foothold: Jokowi
After attending a public screening of the movie Pengkhianatan G30S/PKI (The Treachery of G30S/PKI) in Bogor, West Java, on Friday, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo addressed the nation on Sunday, stating that his administration would never allow communism to flourish in the country.
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Pious and joyous: President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo talks to Islamic school students during the opening of the 10th Indonesian Anak Shaleh (Pious Children) Festival at Sabilal Muhtadin Grand Mosque in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, on Sept. 15. (Antara/Herry Murdy Hermawan)
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fter attending a public screening of the movie Pengkhianatan G30S/PKI (The Treachery of G30S/PKI) in Bogor, West Java, on Friday, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo addressed the nation on Sunday, stating that his administration would never allow communism to flourish in the country.
Jokowi, who has been repeatedly accused of being a communist sympathizer by his opponents, said the 1966 Temporary People's Consultative Assembly Decree (TAP MPRS) on the disbandment of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) clearly stated that communism was banned in the country.
“Our commitment, my commitment, the government’s commitment is clear […] the PKI is banned,” he told reporters after leading the ceremony commemorating Pancasila Sanctity Day in Lubang Buaya, East Jakarta, on Sunday.
Jokowi called on the people to hold on to Pancasila to maintain unity. “Don’t let the PKI cruelty happen again. Don't give room to ideologies that contravene Pancasila. Don't give room to the PKI,” he said.
An anticommunist frenzy has swept the country ahead of the annual commemoration of a failed coup attempt on Sept. 30 in 1965, which was blamed on the PKI and was then used as a pretext for the killings of about 500,000 people accused of being linked to the communist party.
Analysts have said certain parties might have deliberately stoked the anti-PKI sentiment to attack Jokowi and gain political support ahead of the 2019 presidential election. (ary)
