Permit regulations draw criticism from activists
Permit regulations draw criticism from activists
JAKARTA (JP): The government's new ruling on gathering permits was greeted yesterday with relief by a prominent artist, but drew strong criticism from activists.
"Great, wonderful!" playwright Ratna Sarumpaet gushed.
Emmy Hafild of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) and Hendardi of the Indonesian Legal Aid (LBH), however, expressed disappointment over the ruling which they said only strengthened the authorities' quest for greater control over the public's social and political activities.
"There's no change at all. The ruling's only a ruse to convince people that there's openness here," Emmy told The Jakarta Post by telephone.
"There's no substantial change. The spirit of the ruling is that the government still wants to assert control over the public social and political activities," Hendardi said.
Ratna, who leads the Teater Satu Merah Panggung and is one of the most outspoken protesters of the policies on permits for cultural performances, said artists have been "traumatized" by the various bans that the authorities have imposed on cultural performances.
"The problem of permits was traumatizing...it has been a real constraint on creativity," she said.
Among the plays banned this year was Senandung Terpuruk dari Balik Tembok Pabrik (the Miserable Symphony from behind the Factory Wall) by the Indonesian Labor Theater Group.
The May performance was not allowed in Jakarta. In a rare move, the artists from the group then filed a lawsuit against the head of the city directorate of social and political affairs who they said was responsible for the ban.
Emmy criticized certain parts in the guidelines, including those that say political parties and Golkar have to notify the authorities if they wish to hold gatherings which "discuss affairs which influence the life of the state and the running of the country, aiming at influencing the implementation of the state's or the government's power".
Control
"This shows that basically, the people's rights to organize and assemble is still controlled," Emmy said. "The ruling still runs counter to Article 28 of the Constitution."
The Article deals with people's right to assemble.
"What if Walhi wants to hold public debates on the danger of nuclear power, which of course attempts to influence the government's policies on nuclear power plants?" she said. "What if PDI wants to hold public debates which attempt to influence the government's policies?"
Emmy was referring to the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), which for some time has been encountering difficulties in holding meetings.
In addition, "who's to judge whether certain meetings aimed at influencing the running of the country? Government officials?" Emmy said.
"On the individual, personal level, there are changes because now people can hold wedding ceremonies without having to obtain permits," she said. "On the political level? There's no change at all."
Hendardi expressed similar views with Emmy, saying that the ruling turned out to be a mere reinforcement of the "institution of permits".
With the issuance of the implementation guidelines on permits, the government wishes to restrict not only the political activities of organizations, but also those of individuals.
He also criticized the stipulation that the public request permits seven days before holding the event. "If people want to demonstrate, say, against corruption by a government official, do they have to request a permit seven days in advance?" he said.
He said the ruling was only an instrument of control over the public's social and political activities. He also criticized the government for using the outdated chapter 510 of the Criminal Code and on a 1963 laws on political activities, as the basis for the guidelines.
"The stance of LBH remains the same. There should not be any regulations of gathering permits at all," he said. "The government should instead guarantee people's right to assemble and to express their opinions."
Emmy shared Hendardi's view and called for the abolition of the policies requiring people to either notify or obtain permits before holding political gatherings. (swe/anr)