Police forbid workers' play
JAKARTA (JP): Teater Sanggar Pabrik, a theater run by workers, failed to obtain a permit to perform its play entitled Surat Cinta untuk Marsinah (A love letter for Marsinah) at the Bulungan Studio in South Jakarta on Saturday.
"We received a letter of notification, signed by chief of the Kebon Baru Police precinct Capt. Hadi Sutedjo, on Friday night," M. Lutfi Hakim, one of the actors, was quoted by the Kompas daily as saying.
He said that they were working on the set inside the studio when police officers came in and delivered the notification.
"The police said that we have to obtain a permit from the City police headquarters since the play would take place in South Jakarta, while our office is in Utan Kayu, East Jakarta," he said.
Lutfi said that the theater would lose some Rp 2 million (US$883.00) because of its failure to stage the play.
He said that the theater had earlier obtained a permit, dated Aug. 22, signed by deputy chief of the Kebon Baru police precinct Capt. D.J. Situmorang.
Chief spokesman of the City Police Lt. Col. Bambang Permantoro declined to comment when reporters asked him for confirmation yesterday.
"I still have to study the case," he said.
Hendardi, director for Communication and Special Programs of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, criticized the police in banning the performance.
"It is against the spirit of abolishing the permit policy, which has been declared by the government," he said in a press release yesterday, a copy of which was made available to The Jakarta Post.
Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman declared last month that the government would abolish the permit requirements for virtually all kinds of gatherings by the end of the year.
He said essentially non-political gatherings, such as religious, social and cultural meetings, will be freed from the requirement that organizers of such events need to obtain permits from the authorities, while for demonstrations and other activities in the streets, which could disturb public order, official permits will still be required.
Under the current policy, organizers have to go through at least three different government agencies in order to obtain permission to hold a gathering.
The policy, which has been applied to all kinds of activities, is based on Article 510 of the Criminal Code, which stipulates that people holding a public party or a parade on a public street must seek permission from the police.(imn/01)