Ghinan Salman, Surabaya – The Kraksaan sectoral police in Probolinggo, East Java, have reportedly returned four books with communist themes to literacy activists that are part of the Vespa Literacy community.

Taufiq Siddiq, Jakarta – Attorney General Muhammad Prasetyo is proposing that massive raids be carried out to hunt down books which contain communist teachings and banned ideologies. The proposal was made after the seizure of hundreds of books around the country allegedly containing “banned ideas”.

Tsarina Maharani, Jakarta – Tommy Suharto’s Working Party (Partai Berkarya) has spoken out about communism – which is banned in Indonesia – in relation to the seizure of books deemed to contain communist ideas in Padang on January 8. The party says that groups who are against former President Suharto are pro-communist.

Jakarta – The Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) is questioning the legal grounds for the seizure of books about the banned Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) and communism in Kediri, East Java, on Wednesday December 26. The ICJR also criticised the involvement of the TNI (Indonesian military) in the raids.

Jakarta, CNN Indonesia – The Working Party (Partai Berkarya) which is led by Hutomo Mandala Putra alias Tommy Suharto claims that the 2nd president of Indonesia, Suharto, was a pioneer in the eradication of corruption. It was Suharto who enacted Law Number 3/1971 on the Eradication of Corruption at the start of his administration.

Jakarta – The Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) says that a Supreme Court (MA) verdict increasing the sentence against an activist who protested a mine in East Java and was charged with spreading communist ideas is an example of the law being used to silence activists or SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation).

Vindry Florentin, Jakarta – Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) deputy coordinator Feri Kusuma says that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s statement on the banned Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) at the TNI’s (Indonesian military) anniversary was inappropriate.

Jakarta, CNN Indonesia – The banned Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) is like a ghost which every year is resurrected towards the end of September.

Ika Ningtyas, Jakarta – Scores of residents in the Pesanggaran sub-district of Banyuwangi, East Java, held a protest action demanding the release of their colleague, Heri Budiawan, who is being tried for spreading communist ideas.

Ika Ningtyas, Banyuwangi – The state prosecutor in a hearing at the Banyuwangi District Court in East Java on January 4 has demanded that activist Heri Budiawan alias Budi Pego be jailed for seven years minus time already spent in detention.

Glery Lazuardi, Jakarta – Four political parties – the National Mandate Party (PAN), the Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS), the Democrat Party (PD) and the Greater Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) – have declared their opposition to the Government Regulation in Lieu of Law Number 2/2017 on Social Organisations (Perppu Ormas).

Warta Kota, Menteng – A survey by Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC) shows that 86.8 percent of people do not believe that there is a revival of the banned Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

Arif Hulwan Muzayyin, Jakarta – Efforts by the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) and the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) to set history straight with regard to the alleged September 30 Movement-Indonesian Communist Party (G30S-PKI) coup in 1965 are being seen by some as resurgence of communist ideas and a violation of the law.

Budiarti Utami Putri, Jakarta – The Indonesian Army (TNI AD) has ordered all of its officers to hold joint screenings of the film The Treachery of the September 30 Movement/Indonesian Communist Party (Pengkhianatan G30S/PKI).

Ika Ningtyas, Banyuwangi – Heri Budiawan alias Budi Pego, an activist opposing a gold mine in Banyuwangi, East Java, has been indicted under the draconian anti-communist articles.

Anas Apriyadi, Bantul – Scores of sets of children’s toy miniature soldiers in Bantul, Yogyakarta, were seized from a number of toy shops by TNI (Indonesian military) soldiers from the Bantul 0729 district military command (Kodim) because they contained communist symbols – pictures of the hammer-and-sickle.

Hery H Winarno – Hundreds of people took to the streets to demonstrate in front of the Grahadi building in the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya on the afternoon of Thursday August 13. During the action, the protesters also set fire to red hammer-and-sickle flags.

Ezra Sihite/Wisnu Cipto – Mass organisations (Ormas) that are part of the Pancasila Front are ready to oppose any follow up on the recommendations by the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) on the 1965 killings.

Agus Rahmat, Jakarta – One of the Golkar Party’s mass organisations, Kosgoro 1975 (Mutual Assistance Cooperative) is opposing the recommendation by the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) that the government apologise to the families of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

Yogyakarta – Activists from the United People’s Movement (GRB) in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta held a protest action by placing flowers on a grave at the zero kilometer point near the Yogyakarta central post office on Friday May 21.