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