Will Indonesian military's move to redress 1965 anti-communist purge be 'weaponised' by Jokowi's opponents?

Indonesian military chief Andika Perkasa's announcement last week that relatives of alleged members of the banned Communist Party (PKI) can join the military has been applauded by survivors, and descendants of victims, of the 1965-1966 anti-communist genocide.

It has also been viewed as a move by Andika, the first Christian army chief in Muslim-majority Indonesia, to improve the image of the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI).

The TNI had previously been accused of stoking fears of a leftist revival - a tactic used by Islamist groups to discredit Indonesian President Joko Widodo - and faces accusations of ongoing rights violations, including in the restive region of Papua where there is an ongoing separatist conflict.

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But activists and those seeking "national reconciliation" for victims of rights violations by state institutions say the army still needs to acknowledge its own role in the killings of those perceived as left-leaning, including ethnic Chinese and labourers, students, teachers, artists and farmers.

At least 500,000 people - some estimates place this figure at 3 million - were killed in the purge that the TNI encouraged, with the US Central Intelligence Agency's backing. It came about after the PKI was accused of spearheading a coup against then-leader Sukarno in 1965.

The army neutralised the alleged ouster in what came to be known as the September 30 movement, paving the way for then-army chief General Suharto to seize power from Sukarno and rule as a dictator for about three decades. Indonesia began its transition to democracy in 1998.

Alexander Arifianto, who specialises in Indonesian politics and political Islam at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies said Andika's move was "long overdue".

There has never been a formal ban against relatives of alleged PKI members from joining the military but the killings left such a deep imprint on the Indonesian psyche that discrimination against the group persists.

With Indonesia welcoming Chinese investment under Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, fears of communism have mingled together with anti-Chinese sentiment, despite there being no evidence that China had any involvement in the turmoil of the period.

"This is the right thing to do," said Arifianto.

"There had been a movement [in the military] to reconcile and allow descendants of PKI members [to join the service] under the previous military chief, but he really opposed the idea at that time."

The PKI in its heyday was the world's largest non-ruling Communist Party. It was designated a banned organisation by a decree issued by the Temporary People's Consultative Assembly in 1966, which also banned communism, Marxism, and Leninism ideologies.

In his comments last week, Andika argued that the decree only banned the ideologies, not the descendants of the alleged members of the PKI.

"Let's not make things up. I'm a law-abiding person, if we banned them, please make sure we have the legal basis to do so," the four-star General said.

His statement was quickly followed by a comment from a top official in Jokowi's cabinet. Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Mahfud MD pointed out that descendants and relatives of alleged communists had been permitted to apply to be civil servants or run in the elections since Constitutional Court ruled so in 2004.

Widodo's political opponents were equally quick to use the announcement to their advantage. In the capital, several banners demanding Andika's resignation popped up, including one that depicted him standing next to the hammer-and-sickle symbol for communism.

Comments on social media questioning Andika's sanity for allowing the change also sprang up, underlining how the issue continues to be ripe for exploitation in politics.

Novel Bamukmin, a representative from Islam fundamentalist group 212, told local news outlet Suara that Andika's decision marks "the gradual revival of communism" in Indonesia.

Still, Arifianto argued that there was a limit to the opposition weaponising the removal of the ban.

It would be harder to accuse Jokowi of being a communist - which was a label pinned on him during his first presidential run in 2014 - because Jokowi now "is politically much stronger" compared to the 2014 and 2019 polls, he said. The leader will not be able to run again in the 2024 election as the constitution limits him to serving just two terms.

Arifianto said the TNI may be in need of additional personnel and Andika might have thought ending the discriminatory recruitment process would help this cause.

"Whether they like it or not, the TNI needs to be as inclusive as possible and accept candidates that meet the basic criteria, which is physically and mentally sound Indonesians," he said.

Ian Wilson, a senior lecturer in politics and terrorism at Australia's Murdoch University, said relatives and descendants of those implicated in the genocide were believed to be harbouring "a deep desire for revenge". This was why they were still seen as a threat, he added.

"During the New Order (Suharto's period of rule) in particular, there was a strong idea that communism was sort of an ethereal threat that would be passed down through the generations, almost like a kind of inherited infection, despite the fact that there was no evidence at all resembling a coherent underground movement of communism."

Indeed, family members of alleged PKI members and victims of the 1965-66 anti-communist purge recall how their lives were shaped by their family history.

Bedjo Untung, head of the Indonesian Institute for the Study of the 1965/66 Massacre, a community group, said he was only in high school when he was rounded up and thrown into jail after being accused of being a leftist.

There he was tortured and thrown into a concentration camp without charge or trial.

"The Human Rights Commission had said that the 1965 massacre involved the military's chain of command. The military must take responsibility for this to allow for reconciliation," he said.

Muhammad Firdaus Hidayatullah, a 21 year old college student, said his hopes of becoming a non-commissioned officer in the Navy were dashed allegedly due to his grandfather's affiliation with the PKI.

He had failed the third stage of the selection process - testing his physical fitness - to join the Navy. But in 2020, received a recommendation letter to be a non-commissioned officer, or bintara. It was signed by the Navy's Chief of Staff Yudo Margono. Still, he never cleared the application process.

"I was confused until my neighbour, who worked in the Navy, told me that that was because my grandfather was involved with the PKI. I did not know anything about that beforehand," he said.

Muhammad's family insisted that his grandfather was tricked into attending an event organised by the PKI in Palembang, South Sumatra province, as he could not read the invitation letter. He was only detained for one day, but his name in the PKI's guestbook means that he was viewed as a communist, something that would affect his grandchildren's future nearly 60 years later.

"I welcome the plan to allow children or descendants of the PKI members into the military because it was our fathers or grandfathers who were involved. We don't need to bring the past up any more.

"The children or grandchildren [of these affected people] sometimes don't even know about their past," said Muhammad.

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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