PEN responds to cry for freedom to write<\/p>\n
By Lewa Pardomuan<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The cry for freedom of expression is barely
\nheard in this country, although Indonesia could hardly claim this
\ndoes not mean voices have been silenced.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Writers would be among the first to testify that
\nfreedom of expression, a right recognized by the 1945
\nConstitution, has been grossly violated.<\/p>\n
Their voice, however, is virtually unheard here, with little
\nattention paid, even as Indonesia supposedly moves towards
\ngreater political openness. But not abroad.<\/p>\n
A delegation from PEN, an international association of writers
\nconcerned with literary freedom, brought the issue to prominence
\nwhen it visited Indonesia last month.<\/p>\n
It came armed with a statistic that went unchallenged -- that
\nthe government of Indonesia has banned or censored 2,000 books
\nsince 1965.<\/p>\n
The team consisted of the PEN American Center's Freedom-to-
\nWrite Committee Program Director Siobhan Dowd, and two American
\nwriters, Clark Blaise and the Indian-born Bharati Mukherjee.<\/p>\n
PEN's American Center is the biggest of its 116 centers
\nworldwide. PEN members include writers, poets, playwrights,
\nessayists and novelists.<\/p>\n
The PEN delegation appealed to the government to stop banning
\nbooks, saying that only by allowing free debate and open
\ndiscussion on sensitive issues can people become educated.<\/p>\n
The three PEN members met with Minister of Education and
\nCulture Wardiman Djojonegoro, the National Human Rights
\nCommission, local writers, journalists and publishers in Jakarta
\nand Yogyakarta during their week-long visit.<\/p>\n
Among the writers they interviewed were Arswendo Atmowiloto,
\nEka Budianta, Toety Heraty, Debra Yatim, Ikranagara, Marianne
\nKatoppo and Pramoedya Ananta Toer.<\/p>\n
They concluded that the Indonesian literary community is still
\noverpowered by censorship.<\/p>\n
But they said they were encouraged that things are improving
\nand that there is now a greater dialog on the issue.<\/p>\n
Mukherjee said that what the delegation heard from Indonesian
\nwriters is best described as artificially-prolonged bitterness
\nand suppression, contrary to the fact the Indonesia idolizes
\nharmony.<\/p>\n
"We hope by pointing out this discrepancy we might have
\ncontributed to a process of healing and acceleration of the
\ncreation of constructive debate," she said.<\/p>\n
"This is a state of fear," one local author who asked not to
\nbe named was quoted by the delegation as saying. "You can say
\nnothing directly. The censors only understand bald statements. So
\neverything I write has to be a shadow-play," said the anonymous
\nauthor.<\/p>\n
During a discussion sponsored by Kalam cultural magazine, a
\nnumber of local authors told the delegation that writers have to
\nfight it alone for greater freedom of expression.<\/p>\n
"We get no support from the press, middle class or other
\nsegments of society. We have to fight alone, like Lone Ranger,"
\nplaywright Ikranagara said.<\/p>\n
Most interviewees commented on the constraints on their work,
\nsuggesting that the number of taboo areas continually forces them
\nto self censor.<\/p>\n
The delegation unavoidably threaded a sensitive political path
\nwhen it raised the issue of the ban against the works of
\nPramoedya, perhaps Indonesia's most prominent writer abroad as
\nmany of his books have been translated into other languages.<\/p>\n
The government has banned virtually all of Pramoedya's works,
\nsaying that they carry the message of communism and Marxism.<\/p>\n
The virtual absence of support for Pramoedya in the face of
\nharsh government treatment showcases the lack of unity among
\nIndonesian writers on the issue of literary freedom.<\/p>\n
Many senior Indonesian writers still remember that Pramoedya
\nhimself was guilty of sending authors to jail in the 1960s during
\nthe heyday of communism in the country.<\/p>\n
Pramoedya was sent to hard labor in Buru Island in the wake of
\nthe failed communist coup attempt in 1965. He was freed in 1979.<\/p>\n
It was only last August that a group of 70 Indonesian writers
\nspoke out for the first time to demand that the government review
\nthe ban against his books. The demand was rejected.<\/p>\n
The PEN American executives tried to stay away from the
\npolitical issue.<\/p>\n
Dowd said the delegation was aware of Pramoedya's political
\nbackground but said that the goal of their visit to Indonesia was
\nnot to pass judgment.<\/p>\n
"He's been imprisoned, he can't leave the country and his
\nbooks are banned. Perhaps no writer who is currently alive has
\nsuffered as much as he has," she said.<\/p>\n
Dowd said Indonesia's record on censorship was an
\ninternational issue, especially when it concerned the ban on
\nPramoedya's works. "Anybody in the literary community knows about
\nthat," she said.<\/p>\n
"We are aware of what people say about one another in every
\nliterary culture, including this one," Blaise said. "But we're
\nnot here to evaluate the political dispute," he added.<\/p>\n
Dowd said the time had come for some of the disagreements to
\nbe put aside, adding that among PEN's goals is to defend writers
\nfacing prosecution or death threats.<\/p>\n
Dowd said there is no country in the world which has a clean
\nrecord on censorship. She praised the Indonesian government's
\nwillingness to meet with them.<\/p>\n
Minister Wardiman, for instance, agreed to press the case for
\nre-examining banning orders at his next meeting with the Attorney
\nGeneral.<\/p>\n
Wardiman also promised to give his firm support for an
\nindependent Indonesian PEN center and be willing to discuss
\nfreedom of expression issues with such a center in the future.<\/p>\n
Blaise believes that it will only be a matter of time before
\nthe Indonesian government lifts the ban and hopes that the
\ngovernment will speed up this eventuality.<\/p>\n
The slow path will hopefully accelerate in view of the 50th
\nanniversary of the country next year and close to the 30th
\nanniversary of the New Order, he said.<\/p>\n
"We hope to see, in the Indonesian context, an opening toward
\nhonest harmony, so that bitter memories can be allowed to heal,
\nand that the mission of writers to be witnesses to their time and
\nplace can be allowed its natural growth," he added.<\/p>\n
Dowd explained that PEN has recorded 800 cases of writers
\naround the world who have faced prosecution, threats or even
\ndeath for their work. "So there really is a big, global problem,"
\nshe said.<\/p>\n
She said that most imprisonments occur in China while Turkey
\nrecorded the most attacks and killings against writers.<\/p>\n
China and Myanmar are among the countries which refused to
\nrespond to PEN letters and calls for contact.<\/p>\n
PEN international always works with the local chapter of a
\ngiven country to help defend troubled writers, she said.<\/p>\n
"We rely on our influence as the only international writers
\norganization to persuade governments to think twice to imprison
\nwriters and ban books," she said. "We feel that influence is very
\nimportant and is constantly growing."<\/p>",
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