Cautious drafting of demonstration legislation sought
Cautious drafting of demonstration legislation sought
JAKARTA (JP): The government's plan to regulate street demonstrations through official legislation must not come at the expense of people's democratic rights, experts and politicians said yesterday.
In the second day of the discussion on the proposed law, the wind shifted direction, with participants saying they agreed in principle to the government plan now, though they cautioned that the issue must be treated with care.
"The rising number of protests lately, some of which involved violence and near-criminal activity, certainly supports the argument for legislation," said Roekmini Soedjono, a retired police brigadier general who serves on the National Commission on Human Rights.
Roekmini said the legislation should not only regulate demonstrations but also stipulate the obligations of the authorities, including the security apparatus deployed to deal with demonstrations.
She said Article 510 of the Criminal Code and Law No.13/1961, which are most often invoked for everything from sit-in demonstrations and poetry readings to seminars, were not effective for disbanding public gatherings.
"Because the laws are so weak, security officials tend to stretch them out like an elastic band according to their own desire -- or the desire of whomever they've received the order."
The seminar, held by the School of Social and Political Sciences of the Nasional University (Unas), was attended by student representatives from 12 universities across the country.
Chairman of the House of Representatives Wahono, in a speech which was read by Abu Hartono, a legislator from the Armed Forces (ABRI) faction, agreed on the need to regulate demonstrations.
Wahono said the law should support people's right to demonstrate but added that it must also be able to define the restricted areas of their activities.
According to Roekmini, a draft of the law is currently being discussed by a special group of government officials.
However, Dwi Susanto, a lecturer at the University of Indonesia's School of Social and Political Sciences, does not consider the legislation as particularly necessary.
"Personally, I don't think a decree will make things better. What is needed is more openness and a bigger heart, especially on the part of those being targeted by demonstrators and who should be able to listen to their critics," he said.
He said that such an attitude was still unfamiliar to most Indonesians. Therefore, he considered the main issue to be the "cultural gap" between the demonstrators and their subjects, and how to bridge their differing values.
Roekmini said many people were now taking to the streets or turning to the National Commission on Human Rights to file their complaints. In their view, the House of Representatives is no longer able to accommodate their thirst for change.
Dwi also questioned the capability of some House members to grasp problems, especially when it comes to confronting students demonstrators.
"How do you expect a legislator with an elementary school education background to have the same perception as a demonstrator who is in his last semester of university?"
In a later session discussing the role of the press as an alternative to demonstrating, former chief editor of the defunct Tempo magazine Goenawan Mohamad stressed that the press "is not and cannot become an alternative to protests".
"The press in Indonesia cannot always be a place where one can express one's opinions," he said. "It is not a 'sacred being' which automatically brings with it the truth."
Goenawn said however that the press has a role in providing people a place for discussion and information. "It also has the potential to seek the truth," he added.
Sofyan Lubis, chairman of the Indonesian Journalists Association, was also scheduled to speak yesterday but failed to show up. (pwn)