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.