"The report is tendentious and unethical," the campaign`s spokesman Hasto Kristiyanto said.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Jokowi-JK campaign has criticized a private television station for reporting that Jokowi is a communist.

"The report is tendentious and unethical," the campaigns spokesman Hasto Kristiyanto said in a press statement received here on Thursday.

He denied the claims made in the report, stating that these remarks were solely aimed at reducing the popularity of the Jokowi-JK ticket, which is currently high.

He expressed concern over the false TV report because of its huge implications, which could damage national unity.

Hasto said that communism is a dead ideology, adding that it has already collapsed in Eastern Europe, while in China, it has also been left behind.

With regard to the false report on the Indonesia Democratic Party Struggle (PDIP), which is the party of presidential candidate Joko Widodo alias Jokowi, Hasto called on all PDIP cadres to remain calm.

"The law must be enforced, and we will act in accordance with the given procedures to fight against it, that is, by reporting the television station to the Press Council," he remarked.

"We must face it with a cool head, even though it has hurt us," he noted.

Hasto called on the PDIP cadres to preserve the good name and honor of the party by choosing a peaceful avenue to deal with the situation.

In response to the report, Jokowi said it was a vicious rumor being spread against him.

"There are a lot of black campaigns against me. I have tried to remain calm, but the rumors keep spreading. This is getting too much. Being linked to communism is insulting," Jokowi stated during a press conference after campaigning in Bandung city on Thursday.

In Indonesia, people are still strongly against the idea of communism. It is believed that in 1965, the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) had abducted and tortured people. Since then, the party has been banned in Indonesia.

Indonesia will conduct a democratic presidential election on July 9, 2014, which will be contested by two pairs of presidential and vice presidential candidates: Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa and Jokowi-Jusuf Kalla.

Prabowo Subianto is a retired military general and the chairman of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), while his running mate, Hatta Rajasa, is a former coordinating minister for economic affairs and the chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN).

Jokowi is Jakartas governor and a cadre of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), while his running mate, JK, is a former vice president.

Hundreds of supporters of the PDIP sealed the Yogyakarta office of private TV station TVOne on Wednesday night for allegedly having broadcast a report that cornered the party.

A supporter of PDIP, Foki Ardiyanto, said here on Thursday that the anger of the crowd peaked after watching a broadcast of TVOne, which claimed that a cadre of the PDIP belonged to the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

"The PDIP crowd wants TVOne to clarify its report on the matter and to apologize to all PDIP cadres," Ardiyanto noted.

Besides sealing the TVOne office, the protesters also created graffiti expressing their anger, affirming that PDIP cadres were not communists.

PDIP supporters also came to the TVOne office in Pulo Gadung, East Jakarta, on Thursday morning to hold a similar protest.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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