Tuban – A planned regional conference of the National Liberation Party of Unity (Papernas) in Tuban, East Java on Wednesday April 18 has failed to take place. This was because some 150 members of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) held a demonstration opposing the conference in which they set fire to flags with the symbol of the hammer and sickle.

The hundreds of FPI members held a march along Jl. Wahidin Sudiro Husodo in the direction of a tennis court located alongside the Tuban police headquarters and the District Military Command (Kodim). During the action they shouted slogans against the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) that they claim is the basis of Papernas' struggle.

"Be vigilant against the revival of the PKI, don't let Papernas grow", shouted KH Yahya Romli, the head of the Langitan Religious Pupils Association (Kesan) during the protest.

Aside from the FPI and Kesan, there were also demonstrators from Hiszbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), the Islamic mass organisation Muhammadiyah, the Anti-Communist Front (Gertak), the Indonesian National Movement of Patriots (GNPI) and a number of Islamic boarding school networks in Tuban and Lamongan. "Don't let the PKI grow again", said FPI Lamongan chairperson Zaenal Arifin.

Tuban district police chief Assistant Superintendent Bambang Priambadha confirmed that Papernas had notified them that they would be holding a meeting to establish a regional leadership board in Tuban. However for the sake of maintaining security the police have had it postponed. "For the sake of maintaining security, we have postponed the Papernas meeting", he said.

Speaking separately, the organiser of the Papernas conference, Surojo said they objected to it being said that the party has a communist ideology. Papernas' Three Banners of National Unity – the abolition of the foreign debt, the nationalisation of foreign mining companies and building the national industry for the welfare of the people – is a struggle to bring prosperity to the ordinary people. "We are well aware that there will be obstacles in this struggle", he said. (nanang fahrudin/SINDO/kem)

[Translated by James Balowski.]