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Freedom of speech in jeopardy from planned PKI book raid
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Showing loyalty – Hundreds of students of Islamic boarding schools listen attentively President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s remarks during the Maulid Nabi celebration in Pekalongan, Central Java, on Jan.8, 2017, while they display red-and-white colored banners emblazoned with a message “NKRI Harga Mati” (The Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia is Undisputed). (JP/Suherdjoko)
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cholars and publishers have expressed concern at the government’s escalating campaign against left-leaning literature, deeming the policy misguided and a threat to freedom of expression in the country.
The Attorney General's Office (AGO) and the Indonesian Military (TNI) are reportedly planning to hold a "large scale" raid on books tackling the subject of communism and anything related to the 1965 purge, a move which appears to be aimed at preventing any possible revival of the long-defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), which is, nevertheless, perceived by the government as a “latent danger.”
The planned raid is a follow-up on previous raids in Padang, West Sumatra; Kediri, East Java; and Tarakan in North Kalimantan, which took place in December last year. Among the titles confiscated during the raids were Komunisme a la Aidit (Communism a la Aidit), The Missing Link of G30S, Siapa Dalang G30S? (Who was the Puppet Master of G30S?) and Kabut G30S (The Mist of G30S). G30S is an abbreviation for Gerakan 30 September, the name given to the group behind the attempted coup in 1965, which has been blamed on the PKI.
Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu, a former Army chief of staff has backed the plan, saying that the raid would prevent the possibility of the PKI avenging its defeat in 1965. Ryamizard is convinced that PKI members remain in the country and are holding meetings in restaurants.
"This is a matter of revenge. The PKI’s revenge,” Ryamizard said on Thursday.
Ariel Heryanto, a professor of Indonesian studies at Melbourne University in Australia, said he was surprised by the planned raid and said it might contravene a ruling by the Constitutional Court that requires the government to seek court approval before it can ban or confiscate books.
In the 2010 ruling, the court argued that Indonesia was a law-based country that did not allow the extra-judicial confiscation of books.
