TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - In response to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo’s statement on the idea of revising the Law on Information and Electronic Transactions or ITE Law, the human rights group Lokataru Foundation opined that such revision could not necessarily restore democracy.

“The President's statement amidst this pressure can be seen as an effort to improve the democracy following the decline in the Indonesian democracy index,” said the group’s program manager Mirza Fahmi in an online press conference on Wednesday, February 16, 2021.

According to him, this could be a momentum for the National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo who wished to adhere to the principle of restorative justice to recover victims from the criminalization of vague articles of the policy issued in 2011. This aimed to show regret for the practice of criminalization through the law thus far.

Moreover, Mirza highlighted the quality of civil society. Unfortunately, due to massive attacks on freedom of expression in daily life, people often missed seeing that they also made significant contributions to the drop of democracy.

Lokataru Foundation further argued that the revision of the ITE Law would not strikingly minimize the state's ability to criminalize citizens. “This is not just a matter of legal documents, but the ability of the government, including its citizens, which is still being questioned when facing criticism in the public space,” said Mirza.

Read: Jokowi Tells Police to Use ITE Law Wisely

ANDITA RAHMA