House passes new freedom of expression bill

JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives endorsed on Thursday the controversial freedom of expression bill for President B.J. Habibie to sign into law, saying they were satisfied with the "democratic" way the document was deliberated.

Observers, however, remained unsatisfied,

The 385 legislators attending Thursday's plenary session presided over by Deputy House Speaker Lt. Gen. Hari Sabarno said, through their faction representatives, they were content with the final result of the 20 days of deliberation since the bill was introduced.

Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto and Minister of Justice Muladi, representing the government, also gave the thumbs-up to House Commission I for political affairs with which they deliberated the bill.

Legal expert Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara, however, echoed an earlier warning about the potential for abuse of a ruling on the required notification to the police by people wishing to express their opinions in demonstrations.

Wiranto reiterated the bill was not meant to restrict people's freedom of expression.

Wiranto said: "This is a regulative bill... for every citizen who wants to air their opinions in public, free from either physical or psychological pressures, which could otherwise undermine the meaning of freedom as stated in the 1945 Constitution's Article 28."

Article 28 allows for a law to regulate the people's freedom to organize and assemble to express their opinions verbally and in writing.

All of the four House factions (the United Development Party, the Indonesian Democratic Party, Golkar and the Armed Forces) highlighted the fact they were able to persuade the government to scrap from the bill a stipulation that protesters had to ask for police permit.

The document now says protesters need to notify the police in writing three days ahead of any planned demonstration.

The term "expression of opinion in public" in the bill covers demonstrations, street rallies, mass gatherings, and free-speech forums.

Abdul Hakim said it was that particular stipulation that needed further scrutiny, both from the House and the public.

"Don't allow this notification process to become a 'permit requirement process', because the police still have the power to abuse the meaning (of the stipulation)," Hakim warned.

He said the article needed elucidation.

The lawyer called on the House to monitor the legislation's implementation.

Asked if the country really needed the bill, Hakim said yes as long as it did not ride roughshod the fundamental human right to freedom of expression.

Muhammad Anung, an environmentalist who has often taken to the streets to push for his group's cause, said the bill was not needed at all.

"For a country as repressive as this, such a bill is unnecessary. It would be different if this were a democratic country," said the activist of the Indonesian Forum for Environment (Walhi).

He argued the bill would only add an "additional link" to the chain shackling people's freedom.

Anung also said the short time in which the bill was processed indicated that the House and the government had failed to listen to people's aspirations. (aan)