Freedom on the line
Freedom on the line
It may be premature at this point to say that the reform
movement, set in motion at the cost of so many lives, is making a
U-turn and the old ways are returning. Nevertheless, several
cases that have emerged in the recent past seem to indicate that
such fears are not altogether misplaced.
Take, for example, the case of Tempo news magazine against
businessman Tomy Winata. In late July, public prosecutors
demanded that the Central Jakarta District Court sentence two of
the weekly's reporters standing trial, Ahmad Taufik and Tengku
Iskandar Ali, to two years each in prison for character
assassination by publishing a false report concerning Tomy.
Another case of repression, although of an entirely different
type, was the recent protest against the public showing of a film
Buruan, Cium Gue (Kiss Me Quick). As could have been expected,
the objections in this case came not from the rich and powerful,
but from a noted Muslim leader A'a Gym (Abdullah Gymnasiar) and
the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).
It must be said that most of the films that are available to
film enthusiasts in Indonesia at present are far from what
serious viewers and cinematographers would consider art, or even
tasteful.
Also, one wonders why the display of so much gore and violence
on television and on movie screens is apparently tolerated, while
a display of affection through a brief kiss is still frowned
upon.
Everything considered, the commotion over young people
exchanging a few kisses may seem a bit overblown. After all, the
sight of young people showing open signs of affection is not
really such an unusual phenomenon, even in traditionally oriented
Indonesia, at present.
Surely, for those who are interested in pornography, the real
thing is readily available, and in abundance, along several major
streets, where VCD vendors tout their tasteless ware openly for
passersby.
The protests against the film's producers and the pressure
that has been exerted on the Indonesian Board of Film Censors is
uncomfortably similar to the practices common during the New
Order era under President Soeharto, aimed at suppressing unwanted
expression -- through the arts or the media.
It probably does not need to be pointed out that freedom of
expression through the arts and the media is one of the main
pillars of democracy. Judges and prosecutors are therefore well
advised to practice the law with wisdom and compassion.
As for the opponents of public displays of affection, all we
can say is that opposed as we are to the free, open and
indiscriminate sale of pornography, protesting and opposing such
mild acts of affection as kissing will probably prove to be of
little use in stemming the trend and could even be counter-
productive.
Whatever the case, clamping down on freedom of expression in
any of its forms is tantamount to crushing our fledging
democracy. As for freedom of the press, the Press Law is supposed
to safeguard what is permissible and prevent what is not. Let us
use it to ensure that democracy takes its proper course.