Indonesian military lifts ban on communist descendants
General Perkasa ends the legal ban on children and grandchildren of PKI members. The party was dissolved in 1966. Dictator Suharto engaged in “propaganda war” against his political opponents. Even now, public service jobs can be denied on allegations of communist ties.
Jakarta (AsiaNews) – The Indonesian military has decided to lift the ban that prevented the children and grandchildren of members of the dissolved Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) from serving in the Armed Forces.
The Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, General Andika Perkasa, made the announcement today, saying anyone, regardless of their family’s political history, can now join the military.
“Today there are no more descendants of PKI militants,” the general said. “My idea is simple: there is no longer any legal basis for this ban.”
The Communist Party of Indonesia was outlawed in 1966 after some military officers linked to it staged a failed coup on 30 September 1965.
Since then, any link with Communism, Leninism or Marxism was strictly forbidden and any violation considered a serious offence against the state.
At the same time, any connection with the PKI has often been used by Indonesian parties to discredit their opponents.
President Suharto and his authoritarian regime, which ruled Indonesia from 1967 to 1998, waged a “propaganda war” to crush any political opponent or dissident voice.
Now General Perkasa's decision has sparked a debate in the country. Some right-wing critics are openly hostile.
However, Bobby Adhityo Rizaldi, a member of the Indonesian House of Representatives, backs the measure, stressing that lifting the ban does not guarantee that candidates will be selected.
J. Kristiadi, Senior Fellow at the Centre for Strategic of International Studies (CSIS) Jakarta, told AsiaNews that “General Perkasa’s move should be supported.”
The anti-PKI argument has been widely used to intimidate and slander people every time they apply for a public service job.
Human rights associations have long criticised it, describing the practice as state discrimination against its citizens.
In the last general elections in 2019, the former Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, General (Ret) Gatot Nurmantyo, used the PKI stigma to attack President Joko Widodo, who was once accused of having parents closely lied to the PKI in his hometown in Central Java.
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