Indonesian artists protest after Islamists shut down film

SURAKARTA, Indonesia, Nov. 18 (AFP)
Indonesian artists protested here Tuesday after police bowed to pressure from Islamic hardliners and shut down production of a film about the 1965-66 massacres of communists.
Protesters rallying outside police headquarters in Surakarta, Central Java, said police should protect the filmmakers from religious fanatics rather than shut down the film.

"We have deep concerns that police failed to stop intimidation by militant groups that accused the film of disseminating communist ideology," protest coordinator Kelik Ismunandar told reporters.
He said Islamic militants threatened the crew three or four times and ordered them to halt production of the film, which focuses on events surrounding an alleged coup in 1965 blamed on the outlawed Communist Party.
The communist plot has never been proven but then-major general Suharto used the coup allegations to launch a massive pogrom against Communist Party members which killed up to 500,000 people.
Islamic groups were tasked with doing much of the killing and Suharto went on to become the country's military dictator for 32 years.
The slaughter remains a sensitive and rarely discussed episode in Indonesian history.
Tapol: Indonesia Human Rights campaign
Pictured Eros Djarot, director of Lastri, which was in production in Surakata when it was closed down by anti-communist thugs.