"There is no need to offer an apology. They (PKI members) are the ones who should have offered an apology to us," Retired Army Lieutenant General Syaiful Sulun said.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Retired army and police personnel support President Joko Widodos (Jokowis) decision to not offer an apology to former members of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

"There is no need to offer an apology. They (PKI members) are the ones who should have offered an apology to us," Retired Army Lieutenant General Syaiful Sulun, the general chairman of the communication forum of retired army and police members, stated here on Thursday at the commemoration of the Pancasila Sanctity Day here on Thursday.

Rumors have been rife that President Jokowi would tender an apology to the PKI, and they are believed to have been spread by new PKI followers who were attempting to distort historical facts and negatively influence the mindset of the young generation, he emphasized.

"They are the ones who call for the president to offer an apology. Who were the actual victims? They were the ones who started the coup by killing our generals, and therefore, the people had been outraged," he pointed out.

Rumors were circulating that President Jokowi was to offer an apology to the PKI at an event at the Bung Karno stadium on September 30, 2015.

The presidential office has denied the rumors, saying they are slander.

President Jokowi acted as the inspector general of a ceremony held at the Lubang Buaya Pancasila Sanctity complex located in East Jakarta on Thursday morning to commemorate the sanctity of the Pancasila state ideology.

Some 1,029 people comprising several ministers, heads of state institutions, high-ranking officers from the military and police, and students attended the function.

Chairman of the Peoples Consultative Assembly (MPR) Zulkifli Hasan read out the Pancasila text. Chairman of the Regional Representative Council (DPD) Irman Gusman read out the Preamble of the 1945 Constitution, and House Speaker Setya Novanto read and signed a declaration.

President Jokowi was accompanied by First Lady Iriana during the function.

The Pancasila Sanctity Day commemoration is held annually to commemorate the sanctity of the state ideology against the revolt of the PKI on September 30, 1965, marked among other events, by the kidnapping of the seven army generals including General Ahmad Yani, Major General Sutoyo, Lieutenant General M.T. Haryono, Major General D.E. Pandjaitan, and Lieutenant General S. Parman.

The aforementioned high commissioned officers were killed, and their bodies dumped into the well-known Lubang Buaya pit on which the Pancasila Sakti Monument now stands.

On the following day, October 1, 1965, the National Armed Forces (TNI) succeeded in crushing the PKI revolt and recovered the bodies of the generals.

The government is currently seeking the right way to settle past cases of human rights violations including the ones related to the 1965 coup attempt by gathering inputs from several sources and organizations involved in the advocacy of human rights, a minister stated here, on Wednesday.

"It is still being processed (together with) Komnas Ham (National Commission on Human Rights), and we are also asking for views from our colleagues in Kontras (Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence). All stakeholders in the country must sit down to settle them. So, there is nothing to hide here," Yasona Laoly, the justice and human rights minister, stated at the presidential palace complex.

He noted that human rights cases to be settled would also include the ones related to the Trisakti, Semanggi, and other incidents.

"The process is ongoing. These are very big cases --- Trisakti, Semanggi, forced elimination of individuals, the 1965 incident --- all of them must be settled in the right way," he pointed out.

"We are still seeking the right way. We certainly do not want to continue carrying the burdens of the past. We wish to make peace with the past, and so, we must also make peace with ourselves. We are a great nation. We must not continue to carry the burdens of the past," stated Coordinating Minister for Political, Security and Legal Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan while seconding Minister Laolys views.

He affirmed that the government continued to seek the right way to settle all the cases.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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