Govt told to be open to criticism

Govt told to be open to criticism

YOGYAKARTA (JP): A scholar has urged the government to be more
receptive to criticism and not maliciously brand critics as
antigovernment.

The deputy rector of the Indonesian Islamic University, Moh.
Mahfud criticized officials for being overly sensitive to
criticism and perceiving it as a threat to stability.

"The government's insensitivity to accommodate public
criticism has triggered violent riots," Mahfud said Monday at the
launch of Social Criticism in Development, a book jointly edited
by Mahfud, Edy Suandi Hamid, Suparman Marzuki and Eko Prasetyo,
in Yogyakarta.

"Criticism always has a negative connotation here, because the
government focuses on political stability above all other
issues," Mahfud noted.

Mahfud strongly condemned the current state of affairs,
characterized by rampant monopolistic and collusion practices and
the weakening of the country's legislative bodies.

He lamented that law enforcers often manipulated laws to
defend their own interests and ignore public interests. He then
criticized the restriction of student activities which curbed
academic freedoms.

He said that Javanese culture may not be as tolerant as one
would think in terms of allowing open differences of views.

"The culture of criticism must be revived if the nation wants
to be democratic," he added.

Separately, Yogyakarta's Legal Aid Institute revealed that the
number of rights violations in Yogyakarta had risen to 533 this
year.

"Land appropriation and labor problems rose sharply while
violations of civic and political rights increased by 60.7
percent," said its director Budi Hartono.

Budi said most violations of political rights occurred during
the general election campaign in May, pointing to the fact that
the government failed to be fair during the electoral process.

Forced land appropriations occurred in Bantul, Sukoharjo and
Wonosobo regencies. Local officials often used the public
interest as a pretext to force people to give up their land
without adequate compensation.

"Violations of human rights took place because the government
uses violence and intimidation in land disputes," Budi said.

Land owners, especially farmers, often find themselves
powerless against the government. He warned of possible social
turmoil if the tendency continued. (23/44/prb)