Govt attacked for banning Aussie scholar

Govt attacked for banning Aussie scholar

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

A top human rights activist criticized the move by the
immigration office to ban Australian academic Edward Aspinall
from entering the country, describing it as an "irresponsible
act" by the government.

Hendardi of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights
Association (PBHI) said that the ban was the sort of thing that
would have been par for the course during the era of
authoritarian president Soeharto.

"This is truly an irresponsible decision. The government has
to explain this. They have to explain to the public why they
banned Aspinall," he said on Friday.

The immigration authorities sent Aspinall back to Sydney on
Tuesday shortly after he arrived on a business visa at Soekarno-
Hatta International Airport. He was on his way to Aceh to help an
aid agency there. The immigration office said that the ban had
been imposed at the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra.

The ministry declined to give reasons for the ban.

But a source said that Aspinall was allegedly also acting as
an "advisor" to the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatist group.

"I personally know Dr. Edward Aspinall. He has contributed a lot
to the development of Indonesian democracy through his thoughts
and writings. He is very objective in his writings. Why should
the government be worried by what he thinks?" Hendardi asked.

Hendardi also said that if the government suspected that
Aspinall had a relationship with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM),
the accusation should have been proven first before imposing the
ban.

"This ban shows that there is no room for freedom of thought
in Indonesia," he said.

Political analyst Fachry Ali was also surprised by the ban.

"I was so surprised to hear this. I know him. He was the one
who read my thesis while I was studying for my master's. This
reflects the old pattern, a government that is afraid of
intellectuals. This is an irresponsible decision."

"This is the first time that this country has ever been led by
an intellectual, Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. I can't figure out
why his government has blacklisted a fellow intellectual whose
writings and thoughts are valuable for promoting Indonesian
studies among Western scholars."

"Don't mire Indonesia in backwardness by banning intellectuals
who have a deep, abiding interest in the country."

Meanwhile, Marty Natalegawa, a spokesman for the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, insisted that the government's decision to ban
Aspinall from entering Indonesia was not intended to restrict
freedom of expression in this country.

"I don't think we are obstructing academic freedom in
Indonesia. We should not use him (Aspinall) as a barometer of
academic freedom here," he said.

Marty said that the decision was made after considering the
advice of many parties.

"But I don't know (the reason) why he has not been allowed to
enter Indonesia, and we do not have an obligation to explain it
as it is something that is the inherent right of every country,
to be able to say 'yes' or 'no' to anyone visiting the country,"
he said.(006)