Disrupting Civil Rights, MPR Member Disagrees that Human Rights Activists Need State Permission

He emphasised that human rights activists truly arise from individual awareness and freedom of expression, not from state selection. According to him, if the state determines who qualifies as an activist, it shifts the meaning from a right to something limited.

Marinus also highlighted the primary function of human rights activists as overseers of power, including the government itself.

“Human rights activists’ main function is to monitor power, including the government. If the government is involved in selecting who qualifies or does not as a human rights activist, it is logically flawed. It gives the impression that the government wants to select who monitors it,” said Marinus in a written statement on Friday (1/5/2026).

Marinus assessed that such an approach could potentially create conflicts of interest, as the government is in the position of being monitored yet wants to determine its monitors.

Furthermore, Marinus emphasised that becoming a human rights activist does not require state legitimisation. He reminded that if the process involves selection, the state could unilaterally limit citizens’ rights.

“The state does not need permission to become a human rights activist. If the government’s logic requires selection, it means the state is changing a right into a privilege. So, it’s up to the government’s whim—grant it today and revoke it tomorrow,” he stated.

The PDI-P politician also voiced broader criticism of the potential restriction on critical space. According to him, the state lacks moral or political legitimacy to filter society’s critical voices.

In Marinus’s view, if such a policy is enforced, it would not foster development but rather suppress freedom of expression and violate human rights as mandated by Articles 28A to 28J of the 1945 Constitution, which require the state to respect, protect, and fulfil human rights for every citizen.

Marinus stressed that democracy requires citizens’ courage to correct power. Without criticism, he believes, power risks losing direction.

“We do not need activists who obey power. We need activists who dare to correct power. Because without criticism, power will lose direction, and without citizens’ courage, democracy is just a slogan,” Marinus concluded.