Freedom of Expression in Jeopardy as Critical Voices are 'Threatened'
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26 October 2020 11:58 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Head of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) Asfinawati, citing Monday’s edition of Koran Tempo, said that new methods to suppress the voices of government critics were detected in the approach law enforcers have used in the recent past which comes as a threat towards freedom of expression.
One of which is the attempt to foil mass-demonstrations through several acts that can be deemed intimidation. “There are also acts of sweeping and arresting people in the follow up of a mass protest,” said Asfinawati to Koran Tempo.
This has also affected the public perception towards freedom of expression, or the fear of doing so, which is corroborated by a survey by pollster Indikator Politik Indonesia which found 47.7 of its respondents are starting to be fearful of expressing their opinions and another 21.9 percent are outright afraid of expressing their opinions.
“The survey shows a growing threat towards civil liberties where the majority of people tend to agree and strongly agree that people are afraid of voicing their opinions (79.6 percent),” said Indikator Politik Indonesia executive director Burhanuddin Muhtadi in a virtual press conference on Sunday, October 25.
Vocal critics who were apprehended by law enforcers but were then let go include:
- Dandhy Laksono (due to a tweet about Papua).
- Ravio Patra (Apprehended due to spreading messages police deemed provocative despite having his mobile phone hacked at the time of the incident).
- Mohammad Hisbun Payu (Had his arrest suspended after he believed to have slandered the president).
- Faisol Abod Batis (Another case of alleged slander against President Jokowi related to the dozens of dead citizens in the agrarian conflict from 2015-2018).
- Ananda Badudu (The musician was arrested after rallying funds for students rallying in the anti-KPK Law protests in September 2019).
Also Read: Pollster Finds Freedom of Expression Eroding in Indonesia
TEMPO.CO | KORAN TEMPO
