"All soldiers of the Army, Navy, and Air Force must watch it," General Nurmantyo stated.Cilegon, Banten (ANTARA News) - Commander of the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) General Gatot Nurmantyo has issued an instruction to all soldiers to watch the film on the September 30 Movement/Indonesia Communist Party (G30S/PKI) coup attempt.
"All soldiers of the Army, Navy, and Air Force must watch it," he stated at a social service event to mark the 72nd anniversary of TNI here on Thursday.
The G30S/PKI movement is a dark page in the nations history that all soldiers need to be aware of, he said, adding that seven generals, including Army Chief General Ahmad Yani, were killed in the coup attempt by the PKI in 1965.
The cruelties must never happen again, General Nurmantyo emphasized.
While responding to those who are for and against the re-screening of the film, he said that disagreements are common.
Nurmantyo, however, said he will stick to his instruction that all soldiers must watch the film, as the incident is part of the countrys history, so it is important for the soldiers.
"We urge to prevent the recurrence of such a dark event in the nations history," he affirmed.
General Nurmantyo said he hailed the publics enthusiasm in various regions of the country to watch the film shown by various community elements and regional governments.
Watching the film is more important now after the history about PKI has been excluded from the school curriculum in order to increase the knowledge of the younger generation.
"We hope that through the screening of the film, such a dark incident will not happen again," he added.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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