Hera Diani, Jakarta – Some 50 members of hard-line Muslim groups gathered outside the Central Jakarta District Court on Wednesday, while dozens of others clad in white robes packed a courtroom on the second floor.

"We urge the judges not to bow to the demands of these people who used to butcher Muslims but now ask for justice. Where's the logic?" said Eka Jaya, claiming to be a representative of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI).

"If the judges accept their suit, this means war, jihad in the name of Allah." By "these people", Eka was referring to a group of around 100, most over the age of 65, who had come from all over the country to attend the session. He also referred to them as communists.

They are among those suspected in the past of being members or affiliates of the outlawed Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), and who are now seeking rehabilitation and compensation from the government as they have been living as social and political outcasts for the past forty years.

Represented by the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta), the people – including their families – filed a class action against President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and four previous Indonesian presidents: Soeharto, B.J. Habibie, Abdurrahman Wahid and Megawati Soekarnoputri.

After being delayed several times, the session finally got underway on Wednesday.

However, proceedings were constantly disturbed by the group of hard-liners, which prompted presiding judge Cicut Sutiarso to call for order.

For Toga Tambunan, 65, the animosity was nothing new, as he said he had been stigmatized as a communist all his life, which hampered him and his family members from getting decent jobs and education.

The PKI was accused by the previous Soeharto administration of plotting the 1965 failed coup, in which several Army generals were killed and which led to the slaughtering of communists, their sympathizers and others accused of being in some way involved with the coup or the PKI.

Historians, however, have different theories as to who provoked the coup.

Soeharto, who rose to power following the failed coup, ordered all people linked to the PKI to be imprisoned without trial.

During the 32 years of his rule, Soeharto effectively took away the rights of the alleged PKI members and sympathizers – including their families – as citizens.

"I was imprisoned for almost 14 years in my hometown Banjarmasin (South Kalimantan). I was forced to quit my job as a civil servant, and had difficulty finding another," said Toga.

This was all because he joined the PKI's subsidiary organization, a cultural institute called Lekra.

The group of suspected PKI members demanded that their economic, social and cultural rights be restored and that the government revoke any discriminative laws against them.

A handful of discriminative laws have been revoked, enabling people who were jailed for their alleged involvement in the party to vote in the previous legislative election. However, 24 discriminative regulations are still in place.

"The plaintiffs are also demanding that the government give them back their dignity by apologizing via the national media and paying material losses in amounts to be specified later, plus Rp 10 billion (US$1.07 million) in non-material losses," said lawyer Gatot from LBH Jakarta.

The hard-liners finally dispersed in the afternoon. The second session will be held next Thursday.