Freedom is never absolute, says Wardiman<\/p>\n
By Riyadi<\/p>\n
SEMARANG (JP): Freedom is never absolute and this goes for
\nacademic freedom too, according to Minister of Education and
\nCulture Wardiman Djojonegoro.<\/p>\n
"Academic freedom is strictly for the intelligentsia, that is,
\nthose who have a higher intellectual standard than that of
\nordinary laymen. This means that they can be locked in a heated
\ndebate without losing control of their emotions," Wardiman told
\nThe Jakarta Post recently.<\/p>\n
The police and government have been criticized for banning a
\nnumber of vocal scholars and human rights campaigners from
\naddressing seminars at university campuses in recent months.<\/p>\n
The government's policy of banning political discussion on
\ncampuses has also been questioned now that the country is moving
\ntowards greater political openness.<\/p>\n
Wardiman stressed that the government is totally committed to
\npromoting academic freedom because science and knowledge can be
\nadvanced through extensive and unimpeded dialog and discussion.<\/p>\n
However, he said that this is only true if the participants
\nare members of the academic community. He said he had no qualms
\nagainst such organized discourses on campuses.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that if outsiders were allowed to participate,
\nthen the organizers would have to abide by the normal regulations
\nin arranging such meetings, including applying for police
\npermits. The minister said that the matter would then be in the
\nhands of police, who have to take various security aspects into
\nconsideration.<\/p>\n
Over the past year, victims of police's ban have included
\nhuman rights campaigner Adnan Buyung Nasution and poets Emha
\nAinun Nadjib and W.S. Rendra.<\/p>\n
In a major breakthrough however, Diponegoro University Rector
\nMuladi early this month gave the green light for Emha to address
\na seminar at the campus of the state university in Semarang,
\nCentral Java. Up to that point, Emha had been practically
\nblacklisted from making public appearances in the province.<\/p>\n
Wardiman, however, also had to defend his policy of academic
\nfreedom from critics within the establishment.<\/p>\n
Pressures<\/p>\n
The minister cited as an example that there had been pressures
\nput upon him to take a punitive action against George Junus
\nAditjondro, a staff lecturer at the Satyawacana Christian
\nUniversity in Salatiga, Central Java. This pressure came after
\nGeorge wrote a series of papers on East Timor which many
\ngovernment officials found controversial.<\/p>\n
Wardiman said many saw the approval for George to write up the
\npapers as setting a bad precedent that would ultimately endanger
\nthe nation. However, he resisted the criticisms.<\/p>\n
"I couldn't stop him because his work was academically
\ncredible."<\/p>\n
George's papers eventually found their way into the Australian
\npress which published some of his assertions, including a
\nsuggestion that the number of casualties in the Dili riot in
\nNovember 1991 was far higher than the official figure.<\/p>\n
Wardiman, while expressing displeasure against some vocal
\nscholars like George, pointed out that they constitute only a few
\nof some 55,000 university lecturers in the country.<\/p>\n
"To be vocal is not a guarantee of being correct," he said.<\/p>\n
He also echoed the government's aversion to scholars who often
\nattack their own country when they travel overseas. "I don't
\nthink it's right for someone to go abroad and then make remarks
\nwhich offend our sense of nationalism."<\/p>\n
The minister also sought to dispel the common misunderstanding
\nof students about campus autonomy. He said that many had
\nerroneously taken this to mean that they could do whatever they
\nliked within the confines of the campus.<\/p>\n
University administrators often are attacked by their own
\nstudents for not respecting campus autonomy, which often requires
\nsummoning the military to quell student demonstrations. The
\nadministrators defend their actions, saying that they were
\npreserving order on campus.<\/p>\n
Wardiman said that he is open to any invitation for a dialog
\nwith students anywhere, as proven by his recent visits to Bandung
\nand Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
This policy echoes the point that he keeps hammering into
\nuniversity administrators whenever he meets them: "Let's not
\nforget that they are cadres who will become the country's next
\nleaders."<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/freedom-is-never-absolute-says-wardiman-1447893297",
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