Candra Malik, Solo – A Central Java radio station was attacked by militants, investigated by police and reprimanded by a broadcast watchdog after airing an old communist-affiliated song on Sunday.
A handful of members from the Laskar Hizbullah militant group attacked the Soloradio FM office after the station played "Genjer-Genjer," an old song popular with the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) in the 1960s.
The militants accused the radio station of intentionally spreading communism and offending past victims of PKI violence and their descendants.
Yanni Rusmanto, the Laskar Hizbullah leader, reported the matter to the police and urged the station to apologize publicly. The provincial office of the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) also reprimanded Soloradio over the matter.
The announcer at Soloradio, Stephanus Aji, known as Jinge, was taken to the Solo Police headquarters and questioned by the chief of the intelligence and security unit, Comr. Jaka Wibawa.
"Presently, using or spreading the symbols of communism, for instance the PKI symbol with the hammer and sickle, are prohibited," Joko explained. He said that he only questioned Aji about where he got the song and why he played it on air.
Aji said he downloaded the song from the Internet and played it on the Friday morning Ramadan Show as part of a quiz about film soundtracks. He said "Genjer-Genjer" was a song from the film "Gie," a 2005 production about the late activist Soe Hok Gie that was set in Java in the 1960s.
According to Aji, the song was popularized by Lilis Suryani, who also sang "Gang Kelinci." He did not, however, deny that he was aware "Genjer-Genjer" was synonymous with the communist movement.
Laskar Hizbullah alleged Soloradio was trying to propagate communism. "It is so regretful, moreover, it was broadcast during the holy month of Ramadan," Yanni said, adding that unless the radio station apologized publicly, the militant group would continue to picket its office.
The general manager at Soloradio, Yunianto Puspowardoyo, said he wanted to settle the issue peacefully. "We will apologize to the community for the incident and are ready to do anything to clarify that we did not intend to spread communism. It was just an impulsive decision by the announcer," he said.
Hari Wiryawan, a member of the KPI in Central Java, said the commission would ask for an explanation from Soloradio regarding the issue.
"It is true, there is no rule to ban the song for being played on TV or radio, however, our society is still psychologically traumatized by PKI cruelty," Hari said. "We think the broadcasting of the song brought that trauma to the surface again."
Solo Police Chief Comr. Joko Irwanto said the police would still investigate the case but did not want to act rashly. "This is a sensitive issue. The announcer from Soloradio FM has been interrogated but he was not arrested," he said.
Indonesia's official history blames the PKI for brutally killing several top Indonesian generals in an abortive 1965 coup attempt; however, historians maintain the evidence linking the PKI to the assassinations is inconclusive. The killings paved the way for the fall of the nation's first president, Sukarno, and a takeover by the autocrat Suharto. Indonesia banned communism in 1966.
Mass violence against communists and alleged sympathizers claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in Indonesia in 1965 and 1966. Communism and those associated with it are still widely stigmatized.