Govt accused of violating freedom of expression
Govt accused of violating freedom of expression
Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung
Noted artist Tisna Sanjaya will report Bandung mayor Dada Rosada
to the police after officials from the Bandung city's Public
Order Agency burned down his installation art works last week.
Tisna is discussing the substance of the indictment with his
lawyers, but most likely the mayor will be reported to the police
for insulting his work.
"We will file the report on Tuesday. The burning was an insult
to my dignity as an artist and to the people's freedom of
expression," Tisna told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
According to Tisna, the case began when several officials from
the agency descended on Thursday last week to Babakan Siliwangi
valley in Bandung, where Tisna was displaying a piece titled
"Special Prayer for Death".
The work, in the shape of a ship, have been displayed since
December last year, along with other installations created by
Bandung artists.
The artists displayed their works in the valley, part of a
protected forest, as a protest to the decision by Bandung
administration that plans to build a condominium in the area.
Separately, the head of the agency, Syarief Hakim, confirmed
the incident. But, he quickly asserted that the incident occurred
due to a misunderstanding among his subordinates.
According to him, his subordinates perceived the installation
art as garbage, because it stood amid carton boxes in the area.
He said that he had invited Tisna to visit his office to
clarify the matter. He said that he was willing to apologize to
Tisna over the burning of his installation.
"It was purely an accident. It was a misunderstanding, and we
apologize for that," he said.
However, Tisna rejected his apology.
"An apology alone will not solve the problem. This is evidence
that the government has dealt with the protest by the artists
irresponsibly and in an authoritarian manner.
This is a tragedy for humanity," he said.
Tisna also argued that the burning of the installation art on
Thursday last week was intentional.
He recalled that the day before the incident, he was visited
by several members of the Indonesian Military (TNI).
They photographed installation art displayed by Tisna in a
studio in Bandung, titled: "Toilet for Interfet, WC for TNI" and
"Peeing: TNI: RP 250, Interfet: US$250".
Interfet stands for the International Force in East Timor.
Besides taking pictures in his studio, the TNI personnel also
asked him not to display the installation art in the studio, as
it was deemed insulting to the TNI.
Meanwhile, the head of West Java Cultural office, Memet
Hamdan, supported Tisna's plan to sue the mayor.
Memet said that the burning of art works was vandalism and it
could jeopardize the freedom of expression.