Poets criticize authorities for banning gathering

JAKARTA (JP): Yesterday, two noted poets, W.S Rendra and Emha Ainun Nadjib, criticized the authorities for banning a congenial gathering between the two men at the latter's house.

The meeting, held in Bantul, Yogyakarta last Friday was broken up for no clear reason.

"We don't understand why it was banned. It wouldn't be so much of a problem if we knew the reason. I can't even sleep until I find out," said Emha in a joint press conference at the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI)'s headquarters here.

Emha complained about the absence of solid criteria on what kind of meeting required the authorities' permission, saying that the nature of Friday's gathering was merely congenial.

He accused the authorities of sowing confusion by not telling them why the gathering was banned.

Emha described the police officers who put a stop to the meeting as victims of the system which they did not understand.

He questioned the knowledge of the officers's superiors on issues such as human rights, freedom of speech and law. "They (the officers) are oppressed!" he said.

Rendra backed up Emha's statement, saying that permission is granted or denied depending on the mood of the authorities. "There are no guidelines," he said.

The gathering was broken up by the police on the grounds that it lacked the necessary authorization.

Some 100 people, most of whom are those who are interested in culture, were already present at the house to attend the meeting.

The meeting followed a poetry reading held by Rendra in Yogyakarta on the previous night.

Regarding the performance called Rendra Back to Yogya, the poet also expressed his frustrations with authorities who picked out the poems that he would be allowed to read on stage. "I have deep concerns about the limitation placed on my self-expression," he said.

High time

Emha said it was high time the authorities applied other considerations in dealing with people, instead of simply looking at issues from a security perspective.

"With true respect for Pancasila and people's physical and spiritual prosperity, I think people really need to be given the chance to bear the responsibility for free expression," he said.

"It means that if they hold gatherings, they should not be simply told to disperse. Instead, they should be held responsible if something dangerous really does occur."

As calls for freedom of speech intensify, YLBHI chairman Adnan Buyung Nasution urged the government to evaluate the present policy on gathering authorization.

Meanwhile, Commander of the Diponegoro Military Command Maj. Gen. Soejono expressed his astonishment that the police had banned the gathering.

"I myself don't know why the security officers dispersed the meeting," he said as quoted by the Antara news agency.

He said that the military never issued any order banning the poets from holding a meeting. "There was no reason at all to ban the gathering."

Soejono believed that security officers assumed that permission was a very important element. "In fact it is a trivial thing. It can be easily obtained," he said, adding that he had not received any formal reports about the ban of the meeting at Emha's house.

He also said that Emha was not forbidden to give speeches in campuses in Central Java. (par)