The Hefner interrogation<\/p>\n
After the disbanding of a scientific discussion with a limited
\naudience, Prof. Dr. Robert W. Hefner, an anthropologist and
\nteacher at Boston University in the United States was taken to
\nthe Central Jakarta Police Precinct, together with six organizers
\nof the meeting. There, they were interrogated for six hours.<\/p>\n
The reason given by the police: The organizers did not have a
\npermit to hold the discussion. To justify their actions, the
\nauthorities cited Article 510 of the Criminal Code -- which
\ncovers public amusement events.<\/p>\n
The following day, the international news agency AFP and
\nInternet spread the news across the globe. Several news media,
\namong them the Straits Times and Radio Nederland, picked up the
\nreport.<\/p>\n
Coincidentally, the case came a day after the Coordinating
\nMinister for Political Affairs and Security, Soesilo Soedarman,
\nstated that his office was putting together a team to draw up a
\nnew policy on the issuance of \"speaking permits\". Two days
\nbefore, the general chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama organization,
\nAbdurrahman Wahid, was barred from speaking before members at an
\nIslamic boarding school in Lamongan, East Java.<\/p>\n
The case of Hefner's interrogation is truly saddening. Hefner
\nis a scholar with a great interest in Indonesia and with very
\npositive views. With the unfortunate incident, the world has now
\nobserved how poorly our officials understand the sensitivity of
\nthings which in the longer run could do serious damage to the
\nstanding of the Indonesian nation.<\/p>\n
Hefner's factual statement that \"I don't understand why I was
\ninterrogated\" reflects the fact that the police action was beyond
\ncommon sense. Given his position as a prominent scholar, it is
\nnot impossible that the case will alter his views and that of
\nother scholars regarding the level of Indonesia's \"civilization\".<\/p>\n
-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-hefner-interrogation-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }