The First Amendment

To anyone concerned with democracy and the future of this country, news that the government plans to push through a bill on freedom of expression must have hit them like a powerful explosion. It's not so much the title of the bill as the content that strikes one as being very odd. The government intends to regulate -- restrict is probably the more appropriate word -- protests and demonstrations. Yet these were the very mediums of expression that in May were responsible for bringing about the first meaningful changes in this country after 32 years of authoritarian and repressive government. The same protests and demonstrations put President B.J. Habibie where he is now. And now the government is seeking to ban them.

The government cited Article 28 of the 1945 Constitution in announcing the bill. The article states that "freedom of expression and of association, of expressing thoughts orally and in writing and in other forms, shall be regulated by the law."

These words are open to different interpretations. At one end of the spectrum of possible meanings is that these rights are guaranteed and that laws should be enacted to facilitate the exercise of these rights. At the other end is the argument that these rights should be regulated and are not necessarily guaranteed. This second interpretation prevailed for the 32 years that Soeharto held power. If the present government has its way, this interpretation will continue to hold sway.

The bill, based on the sketchy details unveiled by Minister of Information Muhammad Yunus, indicates that the old mentality of regulating and restricting in the name of national security is still at work. This is the familiar "security approach" that underpinned just about all laws and policies in social, political and economic spheres during the Soeharto regime. This is the kind of mentality that the peaceful May revolution -- and that was only a few weeks ago -- sought to change. The current government has not slowed down the reform program, it has reversed it altogether.

The timing of the announcement of the bill also raises questions about President Habibie's priorities. He currently has two very pressing matters to deal with -- the economic crisis and preparations for a democratic election. One would have thought that these two very challenging tasks would be more then enough for a government which is transitional in nature. Why would it want to add more work to an already tight schedule, unless it has specific reasons and motives for doing so. It is easy to think of a lot of other more important legislations to draft if the government intends to take on more work during the short period of time for which it will be in power. There are the laws on corruption, the anti-trust law, and the law on business competition, to name but a few.

The law regulating freedom of expression, even if mandated by the Constitution, is hardly a priority given the current mess we are in. Furthermore, the regulation of freedom of expression should not be intensified. The nation does not want a law that will curtail this newly rediscovered right.

Students initiated the reform movement at the start of the year by breaking the long held taboo of speaking out against the authorities. They held protests and demonstrations that were by and large peaceful, and they rediscovered their right to free speech. In the face of a very authoritarian regime, their numbers mattered. As they grew more vociferous others joined in until in May they finally forced Soeharto's resignation. The nation has come this far in the reform process thanks to freedom of expression and so the government's new move to curtail it must be opposed.

To end the conflicting interpretation of Article 28 of the Constitution once and for all, it is perhaps time to consider introducing an amendment. This is not as taboo as some people have led us to believe. Our forefathers who drafted the Constitution had more insight than these people when they inserted Article 37, which regulates changes to the document. If ever we have to make changes to the Constitution, let's start with Article 28 by making it clear that these various rights are guaranteed by the constitution. Let's make the First Amendment on freedom of expression and freedom of association.