Jailing of activist called unfair

Jailing of activist called unfair

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali

The jailing of a university student for insulting President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is a reflection of the government's
reluctance to accept public criticism, an observer says.

Sociologist Ngurah Karyadi said on Tuesday, as a President who
was directly elected, Susilo belonged to the people and should
scrap all prerogatives that would distance him from the nation.

"In accordance with the electoral process, the President is no
longer a state symbol, but a representative of the people who
elected him," Karyadi said.

He was responding to the Denpasar District Court's sentencing
last Friday of Udayana University student I Wayan Suardana alias
Gendo to six months' imprisonment for insulting the President
during a rally in January against the fuel price increase.

Karyadi said the conviction proved the government had failed
to make a break with the past, when criticism was perceived as an
attempt to undermine the government.

People, he said, were far more critical of the government now
than in the past, thanks to the reform movement.

The judges convicted Gendo of violating Article 134 of the
Criminal Code on insulting government officials by setting fire
to Susilo's picture.

Over the past six months, six students have been sentenced to
between five months' and three years' imprisonment for insulting
the head of state.

Critics have called for the revocation of the controversial
article in the Criminal Code, which is a legacy of the Dutch
colonial government, saying it has restricted criticism and
freedom of expression.

Gendo will only be behind bars for a further 22 days as he has
been detained since Jan. 3, but the court accepted on Monday
prosecutors' demand for an extension of his detention pending
their appeal to a higher court.

A criminologist, however, agreed to the imprisonment of
Suardana, saying the student had gone too far.

"People must look at the case in proportion. They must
differentiate between students who demonstrate and people who
insult or denounce others," Gede Made Suardana said.

Suardana said the way Gendo criticized the government had gone
against political education for people in a democratic country
like Indonesia.

"People must uphold ethics when conveying their opinion," he
said.

Democracy, he said, should not be at the price of the
President's reputation.

"Whoever the president is, he or she deserves protection and
it is also the responsibility of people to protect their
president," Suardana said.

Both Karyadi and Suardana criticized the judges who failed to
give the convict the chance to accept or reject the verdict in
accordance with the Criminal Code.