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)