Jakarta – Army Chief of Staff (KSAD) General Pramono Edhie Wibowo said today that vigilance must be maintained against communists so that the September 30, 1965 (G30S) affair, which was carried out by the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), is not repeated.

“This event to recite the confession of the faith and a joint prayer organised by the Army in praying for our revolutionary heroes is not to prolong grudges, but we must understand that the [G30S] incident really did happen. We, as the successors of the nation must be vigilant, lest it be repeated”, said Wibowo after holding a recitation of the confession of the faith and joint pray at the Sacred Pancasila Monument, Lubang Buaya (crocodile hole), in the Pondok Gede area of East Jakarta on Friday September 30.

According to Wibowo, the army continues to maintain a relationship with the families of those who are building this nation together. The recitation of the confession of the faith was also attended by a unit from the Jakarta Military Regional Command (Kodam Jaya) and the families of the victims who are also revolutionary heroes.

Jakarta Regional Military Command commander, Major General Waris said that the recitation of the confession of the faith and the joint prayer were held in the context of commemorating Pancasila Sanctity Day and praying for the revolutionary heroes that have fallen in battle. Aside from being seen from its religious aspect, he added, the event was held so that succeeding generations of the nation will have the duty and obligation to value and respect the contributions made by the country’s revolutionary heroes.

The big challenge at the moment, according to Waris, is to implement [the state ideology of] Pancasila in the daily lives of the community, the nation and the state. “Pancasila can provide answers to the unrest that is happening at the moment, such as widespread violence, the weakening consciousness of national unity, and the decline in moral values”, he said.

Waris believes that a failure to implement Pancasila will open the door to threats against Pancasila, namely the weakening of national unity. “We must endeavour to implement Pancasila by increasing vigilance against people who are unhappy with Indonesia’s state ideology. Because of this therefore, we need to strengthen the spirit of unity”, he said.

Speaking at the same event, the son of revolutionary hero retired Major General Sutoyo Siswohardjo, retired Lieutenant General Agus Widjojo, called on the successors of the nation to build the country and make it even better again. He expressed his thanks to Kodam Jaya staff for holding the event each year to remember the country’s revolutionary heroes.

The event was also attended by the commander of the Army Strategic Reserves Command (green berets, Kostrad), Lieutenant General Asmyn Yusri Nasution, and the commander of the Army’s elite Special Forces (Kopassus), Major General Wisnu Bawatenaya. (ANS/Ant)

Source: KSAD: Komunis Harus Tetap Diwaspadai – Liputan 6 – Jumat, 30 Sep 2011

 [Slightly abridged translation by James Balowski.]