Freedom of expression a tricky issue

Freedom of expression a tricky issue

Demokrasi dalam Pasungan (Politik Perijinan di Indonesia)
Edited by Hairus Salim HS and Angger Jati Wijaya
Published by Forum LSM/LPSM, Yogyakarta
January 1996
155 pp, Rp 8,000.

Freedom does not guarantee prosperity and justice, but without
freedom, a nation will lose both. (Albert Camus)

YOGYAKARTA (JP): You may be silent for a while pondering the
above thought expressed by the French author. Freedom does not
fully guarantee welfare and justice, but without freedom we will
not acquire welfare and justice.

In the current sociopolitical situation we are faced with bans
as well as other repressive measures against such things as
seminars, discussions, art activities, party ceremonies,
community organizations, or traveling. Even freedom, which is a
basic human right, is often disputed.

With this book, the non-governmental organization (NGO) LPSM,
which is part of the NGO Forum in Yogyakarta, thinks it necessary
to endeavor to struggle for changes based on human rights to
create freedom of expression. This book aims at providing ample
political space for the people.

According to the book, the bans and repressive measures taken
by the government are not based on a concern about the
disturbance of stability, as is often said, but rather on the
desire to maintain the status quo of power. This is seen from the
vagueness and inconsistency of the reasons offered by the
government.

Swedish political scientist Anders Uhlin is right in his
observation that Indonesia is preparing to sail toward a
democratic life. "Preparing" means that it has just entered a
pretransition phase, in which the present regime has started to
show signs of instability and the struggle for democracy is
entering the embryonic phase. The book argues that the demands
for democracy are on the increase.

The book points our that in the pretransition phase, the right
to assemble or to organize is very vital in democratic political
life, as a medium for the people to convey their aspirations and
to voice their political and economic rights.

Thus, it is not possible for a country that claims to practice
democracy to do so without there being freedom to assemble.

The limitation of the peoples' movements with regard to
opinion, expression and assembly has a bad impact on their
political education because in political education, there are at
least two basic things. First, openness in information. Second,
freedom to convey things related to political, social and
economic life.

Regretfully, the condition of these two things is far from
adequate. Information critical of the government is often covered
up, thus denying the people their right of information. Remember
the ban on the DeTiK tabloid and Editor and Tempo magazines.

It is true that the New Order has succeeded in creating a
political system with a high level of stability. On the other
hand, the orientation of the powerful government under the New
Order has apparently not shifted from political stability and has
even strengthened itself.

The book states that this has resulted in limited
opportunities of development for the peoples' participation in
managing the country and has weakened their independence. Worse,
apathy and disarticulation in politics seem to be with the
majority of the community, while it is only through active people
that a democratic and durable political system finds its true
identity.

One of the pillars of the struggle for democracy is the
endeavor to fulfill basic rights, particularly the right to
express one's opinion.

In a normative way, the right of expression is the essence of
humanity because it is a reflection of the capacity for self-
disclosure.

The normative and political aspects described above can be
used for observation of the current subject of permits. As for
the first one mentioned, the complete settlement of permits is
essential to the restoration of human dignity.

Concerning the latter, the limitation of freedom of expression
is the result of the dominance of the orientation of a powerful
state. In other words, as long as there is no change in the
orientation, banning and repression will continue, according to
the book.

Apart from the above, in the frame of giving substance to
freedom, the lack of understanding on the values of freedom is a
serious obstacle. The next question is, what strategy is needed
to prevent freedom from losing its substance in the hectic
activities of development?

The book notes that peoples' active participation in the
development process must be increased, supported by the
implementation of democracy in the sense of freedom to assemble,
to express oneself purely and responsibly.

The legislative, judiciary and executive institutions, as the
main pillars of the democracy process, are to operate in
accordance with their respective functions, the book states.

Furthermore, the effective participation of the people in the
economic, political, social and legal fields must be exact (clear
and right) and concrete, and not only in the form of slogans,
rhetorics for mere political consumption.

The book further points out that free political space is an
absolute prerequisite for the development of basic human rights.

For political observers and everyone who wants an open
political space, I recommended this book. Reading this book means
participation in the efforts to struggle for political space, to
give substance to freedom.

-- I.L. Parsudi