Poets criticize authorities for banning gathering
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)