Expert: Communism Still an Effective Political Instrument

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A political expert Hermawan Sulistyo said that the issue of PKI (Indonesia Communist Party) and communism are still considered as an effective political instrument in Indonesia.

The phenomena, according to Hermawan, can be witnessed from the recent screening of the film “Pengkhianatan G 30S PKI” about the 1965 tragedy, which has caused controversy. He claims that many Islamic groups have used the issue as a mean to strike an attack against former PKI members.

Read: Communism No Longer Exists: Military Commander

“Meanwhile, many former PKI members themselves yearn to revive PKI. This is the problem here,” said Hermawan Sulistyo at Pondok Pesantren (Islamic boarding school) Al Munir in Situbondo, on Sunday, September 17.

The writer of the book called "Palu Arit di Ladang Tebu: Sejarah Pembantaian Massal yang Terlupakan" said that the issue of communism has died. “Only fools would believe in communism. The problem is that it is still effective to be used as a political instrument,” said Hermawan.

Read: MPR Speaker Blasphemy Article Removal Supports Communism

A historian at the University of Indonesia, Susanto Zuhdi, views that the screening of the film should not be a problem if the aim is to deliver a different message compared to when it was screened during the New Order regime era. “It used to be a form of indoctrination or shaping the opinions of the New Order,” he said.

Susanto explains that the re-screening of the film might actually be used to strengthen the Pancasila ideology (state ideology) and to dismiss several issues regarding PKI (and or communism) that have developed recently. He added that today’s society is much more critical in responding to a film.

SYAFIUL HADI | DAVID PRIYASIDHARTA