A theater of the absurd

A theater of the absurd

Up until last week, very few Indonesians realized that the law
on freedom of expression, endorsed by the House of
Representatives and passed into law in October 1998, is as
defective as a three dollar bill. And once again it took the
actions of a few students to bring the truth to light.

Tragically, the realization led to bloody clashes between
students and security officers. The law, passed against a
backdrop of police brutality toward participants of public
gatherings, stipulates "expression of opinion in public" covers
demonstrations, street rallies, mass gatherings and free-speech
forums. The law obliges protesters to notify the police in
writing three days ahead of any planned demonstration.

Since its passage, many organizations planning street
demonstrations have notified the police as stipulate by law, but
many others have not taken it very seriously. Those neglecting to
notify the police include both government critics and supporters,
and it appears that the police take action only against the first
group.

People have started to question the relevance of the bill
since it was submitted to the House. Critics say that by
sponsoring the bill, the government intends to curtail people's
democratic rights.

They say it is an anathema to efforts to introduce reform in
the wake of the collapse of the Soeharto regime. But with the
government faction, Golkar, dominating the House, the bill was
quickly endorsed and passed onto the President for enactment.

After a student demonstration was brutally crushed by riot
police and army officers last week, some of the students were
indicted with failure to notify the authorities before holding
the demonstration. The students told journalists that they did
not recognize the law because it was the product of a House whose
members were appointed undemocratically under the Soeharto
regime.

However, while the hearing was underway, dozens of other
students held a noisy demonstration outside the courthouse,
shouting antigovernment slogans and singing satirical songs.
Amazingly, this was done under the very noses of security
officers, who -- for reasons only they know -- did not react.
Perhaps they have their own interpretation of a demonstration.

The officers' inaction was a comical show of a structural
feeble-mindedness and, on the part of the young men, it displayed
a disrespect for the judicial body. This kind of attitude, which
has become quite common, is made possible by the dark reality of
conditions within the country's judicial institutions, which were
abused by the New Order regime over the last three decades. And
things look even more helpless because the Supreme Court has not
yet introduced reform within its own house.

But these bizarre realities do not stand alone. The law on
freedom of expression was initially introduced to avoid riots,
but since the law was passed there have been bloody riots in more
parts of this country.

With seemingly little interest in earning public respect, the
authorities have staged many farcical shows. The first
unforgettable soap opera was the presentation of medals of high
merit by President B.J. Habibie to his wife and brother in
August, three months after he assumed the presidency.

Then there was the so-called investigation into Soeharto's
alleged ill-gotten wealth. And the story about a leaked telephone
conversation between Habibie and Attorney General Andi M. Ghalib
in which they reportedly discussed the investigation, leading the
public to consider the whole investigation a farce.

While Ghalib immediately denied it was his voice in the taped
conversation, the head of state has neither denied nor admitted
it was him speaking. Recently, when the police were madly trying
to uncover the facts behind the matter, the attorney general told
a meeting with the House that the case was closed.

Many people have found such dramas hysterically funny, and
that is the sadness of the whole matter -- the authorities have
shamelessly made this country a theater of the absurd.