Government bans not lawful: Rights body<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Secretary General of the National Commission
\non Human Rights said yesterday that the government's recent bans
\non people making public speeches and bans on seminars and
\ncultural performances are illegal.<\/p>\n
\"We cannot prohibit a person from speaking or expressing
\nviews, or an organization from holding a gathering,\" Baharuddin
\nLopa told reporters when asked to contribute to the current
\ndebate on the government's policy on gathering permits.<\/p>\n
Lopa said the 1945 Constitution guarantees people the right to
\nexpress their views and to gather as well as to associate.<\/p>\n
The government could not prevent people from voicing their
\nopinions even though it might know in advance what they would
\nsay, he said.<\/p>\n
This applies in cases of seminars, he said. \"If the speaker
\nmakes remarks that offend the government or has an impact on
\nnational stability, only then the government could act.\"<\/p>\n
Lopa made the remarks after attending a hearing with House of
\nRepresentatives' Commission III, which oversees law.<\/p>\n
The government has announced that it is reviewing its policy
\non the issuance of gathering permits. The policy has come under
\nscrutiny lately after a number of seminars and cultural
\nperformances were either banned or broken up by the police. At
\nother times, the government banned certain vocal critics of the
\ngovernment from addressing seminars.<\/p>\n
The debate has already produced some results. The Ministry of
\nEducation and Culture has announced that academic seminars no
\nlonger requires permits, but attendance should be limited to
\nacademic circles.<\/p>\n
Lopa said the current review must ensure that the policy is
\nconsistent with the 1945 Constitution. \"Freedom of speech is the
\nsoul of a democratic life,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Joining in the debate yesterday was Muladi, a legal expert
\nfrom the Diponegoro University in Semarang and also a member of
\nthe National Commission on Human Rights, who said that the policy
\non permits for gatherings is another form of \"censorship\" that
\nshould be abolished completely.<\/p>\n
\"Freedom of speech and expression are basic principles of
\nhuman rights,\" he said in Semarang yesterday.<\/p>\n
He concurred with Lopa's view that the police could only act
\nafter a violation has occurred and not before.<\/p>\n
Muladi, who is also rector of Diponegoro University, said
\narticle 510 of the Criminal Code, which is used by the government
\nto bar or break up gatherings, is something which Indonesia
\ninherited from the Dutch legal system. \"The article should simply
\nbe overruled without having to wait for the introduction of the
\nnew code.\"<\/p>\n
He cautioned the police on the issue, especially when it
\ninvolved foreign speakers.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, the police in Jakarta broke up a
\ndiscussion on Islam and politics in Indonesia that featured
\nRobert William Hefner, an anthropologist from Boston University.
\nHefner was questioned for several hours before he was released.<\/p>\n
\"The treatment Hefner received is a sensitive issue on human
\nrights,\" Muladi said, adding that the freedom of speech is ruled
\nin the International Bill of Human Rights. (imn\/har)<\/p>",
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