The Hefner interrogation

After the disbanding of a scientific discussion with a limited audience, Prof. Dr. Robert W. Hefner, an anthropologist and teacher at Boston University in the United States was taken to the Central Jakarta Police Precinct, together with six organizers of the meeting. There, they were interrogated for six hours.

The reason given by the police: The organizers did not have a permit to hold the discussion. To justify their actions, the authorities cited Article 510 of the Criminal Code -- which covers public amusement events.

The following day, the international news agency AFP and Internet spread the news across the globe. Several news media, among them the Straits Times and Radio Nederland, picked up the report.

Coincidentally, the case came a day after the Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security, Soesilo Soedarman, stated that his office was putting together a team to draw up a new policy on the issuance of "speaking permits". Two days before, the general chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama organization, Abdurrahman Wahid, was barred from speaking before members at an Islamic boarding school in Lamongan, East Java.

The case of Hefner's interrogation is truly saddening. Hefner is a scholar with a great interest in Indonesia and with very positive views. With the unfortunate incident, the world has now observed how poorly our officials understand the sensitivity of things which in the longer run could do serious damage to the standing of the Indonesian nation.

Hefner's factual statement that "I don't understand why I was interrogated" reflects the fact that the police action was beyond common sense. Given his position as a prominent scholar, it is not impossible that the case will alter his views and that of other scholars regarding the level of Indonesia's "civilization".

-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta