'Independence leaders upheld free speech'
JAKARTA (JP): Though facing monumental armed and ideological challenges, in the early years of independence Indonesian leaders set great store by the values of freedom of expression and freedom of the press, an American historian said yesterday.
George McTurnan Kahin recounted his experiences when he first came to Indonesia in 1948 to do historical research. He arrived barely three years after the proclamation of independence, with Indonesia still battling the Netherlands' attempt to reimpose its rule.
"I was impressed that a state with its back against the wall, under the omnipresent threat of further Dutch attack, was willing to countenance such freedom," 77-year-old Kahin said.
Kahin was speaking on the second day of an international conference at the Indonesian Research Institute entitled "50 Years of National Revolution: Examination, Remembrance and Reflection."
He recalled that at the time the government was also facing various challenges within the young republic.
Observer
As a professor at the Center for Advanced Research on Southeast Asia at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, Kahin has done extensive work in this area and is one of Indonesia's most respected observers.
In 1954 Kahin was the director of the Modern Indonesia Project at Cornell which went on to become a model for similar research institutes throughout the United States and Australia.
The Indonesian government honored Kahin's work with a medal in 1991.
Reminiscing about his experiences in Yogyakarta in 1948, Kahin emphasized the way in which the Indonesian leaders at the time preserved the right of free expression and freedom of the press despite the multitude of difficulties they faced. "This openness was something the leaders of the republic were proud of," he said.
Kahin said that there were several newspapers at the time, expressing the views of a number of political entities.
"I was struck by their freedom to criticize government policies, which some did with great vigor," he said, adding that the stifling atmosphere in the Dutch-controlled areas provided a stark contrast.
"The press was remarkably outspoken, with a multitude of newspapers representing a whole spectrum of parties and ideologies," he said.
Goenawan
Another speaker, Goenawan Mohamad, the editor in chief of the now-banned Tempo magazine, also said that during the days of the revolutionary struggle writers were very experimental, producing a great deal of alternative literature.
According to Kahin, the degree of freedom given also extended to those were considered politically suspect.
He said Indonesian communist leader Musso had been permitted to speak in public despite widespread misgivings about his beliefs.
"Though the famous communist leader Musso returned to Indonesia from the Soviet Union under a considerable cloud of suspicion, the students were free to arrange for him to speak to a massive crowd where admission was open to the public," he said.
Kahin said that government leaders he talked to "found the exercise a healthy one", since they believed that public scrutiny would expose the truth about Musso's position.(mds)