'Independence leaders upheld free speech'<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Though facing monumental armed and ideological
\nchallenges, in the early years of independence Indonesian leaders
\nset great store by the values of freedom of expression and
\nfreedom of the press, an American historian said yesterday.<\/p>\n
George McTurnan Kahin recounted his experiences when he first
\ncame to Indonesia in 1948 to do historical research. He arrived
\nbarely three years after the proclamation of independence, with
\nIndonesia still battling the Netherlands' attempt to reimpose its
\nrule.<\/p>\n
\"I was impressed that a state with its back against the wall,
\nunder the omnipresent threat of further Dutch attack, was willing
\nto countenance such freedom,\" 77-year-old Kahin said.<\/p>\n
Kahin was speaking on the second day of an international
\nconference at the Indonesian Research Institute entitled \"50
\nYears of National Revolution: Examination, Remembrance and
\nReflection.\"<\/p>\n
He recalled that at the time the government was also facing
\nvarious challenges within the young republic.<\/p>\n
Observer<\/p>\n
As a professor at the Center for Advanced Research on
\nSoutheast Asia at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, Kahin
\nhas done extensive work in this area and is one of Indonesia's
\nmost respected observers.<\/p>\n
In 1954 Kahin was the director of the Modern Indonesia Project
\nat Cornell which went on to become a model for similar research
\ninstitutes throughout the United States and Australia.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian government honored Kahin's work with a medal in
\n1991.<\/p>\n
Reminiscing about his experiences in Yogyakarta in 1948, Kahin
\nemphasized the way in which the Indonesian leaders at the time
\npreserved the right of free expression and freedom of the press
\ndespite the multitude of difficulties they faced. \"This openness
\nwas something the leaders of the republic were proud of,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Kahin said that there were several newspapers at the time,
\nexpressing the views of a number of political entities.<\/p>\n
\"I was struck by their freedom to criticize government
\npolicies, which some did with great vigor,\" he said, adding that
\nthe stifling atmosphere in the Dutch-controlled areas provided a
\nstark contrast.<\/p>\n
\"The press was remarkably outspoken, with a multitude of
\nnewspapers representing a whole spectrum of parties and
\nideologies,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Goenawan<\/p>\n
Another speaker, Goenawan Mohamad, the editor in chief of the
\nnow-banned Tempo magazine, also said that during the days of the
\nrevolutionary struggle writers were very experimental, producing
\na great deal of alternative literature.<\/p>\n
According to Kahin, the degree of freedom given also extended
\nto those were considered politically suspect.<\/p>\n
He said Indonesian communist leader Musso had been permitted
\nto speak in public despite widespread misgivings about his
\nbeliefs.<\/p>\n
\"Though the famous communist leader Musso returned to
\nIndonesia from the Soviet Union under a considerable cloud of
\nsuspicion, the students were free to arrange for him to speak to
\na massive crowd where admission was open to the public,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Kahin said that government leaders he talked to \"found the
\nexercise a healthy one\", since they believed that public scrutiny
\nwould expose the truth about Musso's position.(mds)<\/p>",
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