Scholars and publishers have expressed concern over 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 to 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 ...

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