ABRI reminds public of basis for permits

JAKARTA (JP): The controversy over the requirement that people obtain official permission to hold gatherings continues with the Armed Forces (ABRI) reminding the public that the policy has its origins in the Constitution.

ABRI spokesman Brig. Gen. Suwarno Adiwijoyo said in Semarang yesterday that the rights to assemble and express opinions are regulated in Article 28 of the 1945 Constitution.

"Some people forget that the freedom to assemble and to express opinions is regulated by law," he said.

He urged the public to carefully examine the policy and to follow procedures if they wished to amend it. The Constitution, he said, contains only the basic regulations regarding the rights, so that it should be flexible enough to accommodate developments in society.

"If we want to change the policy, we should discuss the matter with the House of Representatives," he said. But as long as there is no new regulation on the public gatherings, the old regulation stands, he added.

Suwarno made the comments in relation to the government's plan to establish a team to review the controversial policy. Numerous groups and individuals have joined the discourse, including former minister of home affairs Rudini who called for the abolition of the policy because Indonesia is politically stable.

Among the latest to contribute opinions to the debate was intellectual Emha Ainun Nadjib who said the policy, often used by the authorities to "control seminars, discussions, and cultural performances", was not lawful.

"Democratic countries like Indonesia don't need such control mechanisms," he told reporters after attending a discussion on democratization and political culture in Bandung on Saturday.

He pointed out that Indonesia "does not have any political culture", a culture which places the welfare of the people as its highest priority.

"What we have here, instead, is a culture of power, which does not commit itself to the welfare of the people," he said.

He joined Rudini and many others in calling for the abolition of the permit policy, and its replacement with a new tradition of requiring organizers of any gathering to notify the authorities beforehand.

"Handle violations by taking the matter to court," he suggested.

He also said that should the government decide to establish special agencies in charge of issuing permits for public gatherings, it should include as many elements of society as possible.

"For instance, it should be made clear who would be responsible to evaluate whether a cultural performance" should be granted permission, he said.

He doubted that such a move would be effective, though, particularly due to what he described as government officials' lack of readiness to implement such policies. (imn/pet)