Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – The East Nusa Tenggara Prosecutor's Office on Monday confiscated hundreds of elementary and high school textbooks from bookstores in Kupang, as their contents were believed to have deviated from historical material on communist teachings.

There is concern that the books have been used as a guide for school history lessons.

Carlos de Fatima, acting intelligence assistant to the East Nusa Tenggara Prosecutors' Office, said the confiscation was executed under orders from the Attorney General's Office.

"Certain contents in the books are not in line with historical facts and others are in direct contradiction with (state ideology) Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution," Carlos said.

He explained that sections of the books cover the teachings of Karl Marx as well as the teachings of Lenin, Stalin, Mao Tse Tung and others. "The books contain teachings which are not in line with Pancasila. Moreover, communism/Marxism-Leninism is linked to the G30S/PKI coup attempt," he said.

G30S/PKI refers to a failed coup attempt on Sept. 30, 1965, blamed on the now-banned Indonesian Communist Party.

Hundreds of the books confiscated by the prosecutor's office bore photos of former Soviet Union president Michael Gorbachev. Others contained articles or photos of the Holocaust committed by Nazi Germany.

"We are concerned that the books will psychologically affect the students," Carlos said. "The confiscated books will be burned, while those already in public circulation will be withdrawn," he said, urging the public to voluntarily hand over the banned books.