Mixed reactions greet gathering permits' abolition<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government's intention to scrap its policy
\nrequiring public gathering permits is being greeted cautiously by
\npolitical analysts but welcomed enthusiastically by legislators.<\/p>\n
\"Old habits usually die hard. I'll believe it when I see it,\"
\nMaswadi Rauf, a staff lecturer at the University of Indonesia's
\nSchool of Social and Political Sciences, told The Jakarta Post
\nyesterday. \"Security personnel and officials in charge of issuing
\npermits may feel uncertain and prefer to act the way they
\npreviously did.\"<\/p>\n
\"Let's hope this decision is not a new form of manipulation. I
\nhope the government is honest (in taking the decision),\" said
\nAbdurrahman Wahid, the controversial leader of the 30-million
\nstrong Nahdlatul Ulama Moslem organization.<\/p>\n
\"The people have become apathetic about various aspects of our
\nsocial and political life...because there have often been
\nmanipulations,\" he was quoted as saying by the Antara news
\nagency. \"On the one hand, the government said there's no ban on
\nfree speech, but on the other hand, some government apparatus
\ndenied requests for permits or broke up meetings.\"<\/p>\n
He cited a number of examples, including the bans imposed on
\nhis other organization, Forum Demokrasi, from holding gatherings.
\n\"I'm optimistic, though, that things will get better,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The government announced on Tuesday that it is abolishing the
\npermit requirements for virtually all kinds of gatherings,
\nincluding those which are political in nature. In many cases, it
\nclaims, notification to the police will suffice.<\/p>\n
Both Maswadi and Abdurrahman called on the government to make
\ngood on its decision by drafting guidelines for implementation.
\n\"For instance, there should be criteria on what constitutes a
\npolitical meeting and which gatherings can be considered
\napolitical,\" Abdurrahman said.<\/p>\n
\"I don't see any drastic changes in this decision,\" Maswadi
\nsaid. \"There's only a very thin line between the old policy and
\nthe new one which requires the public to notify authorities
\nbefore holding any gathering.<\/p>\n
\"The officials or the authorities can still make the
\nprocedures difficult for the public. This decision won't be easy
\nto implement the way some people think,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, legislators Saleh Khalid, Oka Mahendra, Royani
\nHaminullah and Suparman Achmad expressed relief with the
\ndecision. They agreed that it represents a positive development
\nfor democratization and a step forward in the campaign for a more
\nopen political life.<\/p>\n
Breakthrough<\/p>\n
Saleh, who is from the Moslem-based United Development Party
\nfaction, said the decision is \"a political breakthrough, a
\nrelief, though a bit late\".<\/p>\n
\"It's important that this political will be translated into
\npolitical action so that both the government and the lowest-rung
\nsecurity personnel will be able to uniformly implement it,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Suparman, from the Armed Forces faction, saluted the
\nannouncement, saying that, if well used, it could prove to be a
\nstep toward greater openness.<\/p>\n
\"This is a great opportunity for democracy,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Both Oka, from the ruling Golkar faction, and Royani, from the
\nIndonesian Democratic Party, urged the government to follow up
\nthe decision soon with concrete legal measures.<\/p>\n
\"Freedom of speech is already guaranteed in the Constitution,
\nbut there are no laws regulating it, this is where problems
\noccur,\" Royani said.<\/p>\n
There are at least two organizations which have expressed
\ndissatisfaction with the abolition of permit requirements.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation stated in a release
\nyesterday that \"there is no substantial change in the
\ngovernment's political view\", because it is still using a 1965
\nlaw on political activities which is restrictive in nature.<\/p>\n
The government, spokesman Hendardi said, retains the authority
\nto define \"political gatherings\" and to decide on which apparatus
\nor government agencies to notify.<\/p>\n
\"That means the state still has the leeway to take repressive
\nactions by prohibiting or breaking up public activities,\"
\nHendardi said.<\/p>\n
The Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy expressed
\nsimilar sentiments. Spokesman Ifdhal Kasim said in a statement
\nmade available to the press yesterday that whatever regulation
\nthe government makes on people's freedom to assemble should not
\ngo against the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the
\nConstitution.(swe)<\/p>\n
Editorial -- Page 4<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/mixed-reactions-greet-gathering-permits-abolition-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }