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.