Internet replaces bamboo spears in fight for freedom

Internet replaces bamboo spears in fight for freedom

By Hanny Agustine

JAKARTA (JP): Remember when you were in primary school and
asked "What did Indonesian heroes use to fight against the Dutch
in 1945?" The answer: Many used bamboo spears.

At that time such simple weapons proved to be useful in
fighting for independence.

Students and pro-democracy activists employed different tools
to "overthrow" Soeharto. Instead of fighting with bamboo spears,
swords, guns or tanks, they used banners, placards, the mass
media and the Internet.

A few years before they rallied on the streets and on campuses
yelling for total reform, intellectuals, professionals, students
and activists used the Internet as a tool to distribute messages,
carry out discussions and disseminate hard news and opinions.

The Internet has become a powerful tool and part of the
infrastructure of the democratic system. Most importantly, it
helped expose the Indonesian democracy struggle to the
international community.

There are several homepages and websites which provide
articles, news, other site links, pictures and features on the
reform movement. The web server might be located in Germany,
Australia, the United States, New Zealand or Indonesia, and the
editor might be Indonesian or a foreigner.

Corruption, collusion and nepotism, as well as other hot
topics in the country are widely discussed in Internet chat
groups.

Several popular public figures, organizations and
universities, including sociologist Arief Budiman now in
Australia, the Indonesian Democratic Party and Trisakti
University, also have their own homepages.

While surfing through these sites, you can read academic
articles, news and analysis, opinions and letters of support.
Words that were impossible to print in the national press during
the Soeharto era are found here.

Some of these sites are relatively new, while others were set
up and registered as many as eight years ago.

A few of them, like Indonesia Baru and Xpos, have a magazine
or bulletin layout with editorials and letters from readers. Xpos
provides weekly news and a review of past events for those who
missed previous issues.

Gema Madani focuses on former minister Emil Salim, featuring
his background, opinions and thoughts. This site also provided
information on his vice presidential campaign in March.

Shocking pictures from the recent riots, more graphic than
what was published in the national press, are also available on
the homepages of IndoProtest -- the only one with advertisements
-- LinkExchange Services and Reformasi Indonesia.

Before labor activist Muchtar Pakpahan was freed from prison
last month, Reformasi Indonesia provided a special space through
which you could show your support for him. You could sign a
letter prepared by the Council of Churches of the Netherlands and
the trade Union Confederations asking for his release, which was
sent to Soeharto.

If you prefer text instead of pictures, you might want to
check out Indo Chaos!!, which provides various articles,
including those on Chinese-Indonesian issues. It also provides
ways to contact the United Nations human rights department and
the U.S. Congress for those seeking human rights protection.
Articles by Arief Budiman or critic George Aditjondro can be
found in this site.

Watch Indonesia, in English and German, is produced by
Indonesian, German and Portuguese nationals. It emphasizes human
rights issues, intercultural communication and exchange projects.
East Timor is one of the issues discussed here.

Another popular site is Indonesia - L, where you can find
archived news articles. During the week of May 25 through June 1
alone, there were 190 news articles, enough to keep you awake a
whole night. This site has operated for almost eight years, and
has thousands of articles. Its editor selects 20 articles out of
more than 300 incoming news articles per day to be presented on
the site.

Most sites are free of charge but some have annual
subscription fees. One such site is Indonesia Publication, which
produces Indonesia - L among other sites. Its one-year
subscription fee ranges between US$50 and $200.

What makes all of these sites different from mainstream
newspapers or magazines? Mainly the "freedom to speak".
Electronic communication is fundamentally characterized by a free
flow of information, feeling and thoughts. On the Internet,
people can speak about anything without censorship. But, does the
Internet provide the truth? That is another question. There is no
guarantee that what is found on the Internet is in reality news.