Jokowi's Government Accused Of Repression, PDIP: Damaging Demonstrations Must Be Dealt With

JAKARTA - A number of parties often call the Joko Widodo (Jokowi) government being repressive and authoritarian. This accusation arose because many demonstrators in the demonstration against the Omnibus Law on the Job Creation Law were arrested or prosecuted by the police.

Responding to this accusation, PDI-P Secretary General Hasto Kristiyanto emphasized that those who were being prosecuted were not purely protesters or people who wanted to convey their aspirations. According to him, those who were arrested and prosecuted were those who damaged public facilities and spread false or hoax news.

"PDI Perjuangan affirms the right to voice opinions is regulated in the constitution. But democracy must not be damaged. When the demonstration has damaged public facilities, the public, that is where law enforcement officials must act to affirm the law above all else," said Hasto in an online conference over. held party activities, Wednesday, October 28

Hasto emphasized that democracy in Indonesia has rules that should be obeyed by all parties without exception. Besides that, democracy should educate the nation's life and build behavior and morality.

Therefore, Hasto assessed, the actions taken by security enforcement officers recently were not repressive actions that violated ethics or rules such as the behavior of the authoritarian regime, namely the New Order government.

"If repressive, the picture is very clear, which was carried out by the New Order government," he said.

Hasto compared the era of the New Order government which often carried out repressive actions against its people. While the administrations of President Jokowi and Vice President Ma'ruf Amin, he claimed, always put dialogue into place.

"Currently Pak Jokowi-Ma'ruf Amin is a leader who continues to build dialogue, the aspirations of the community are accepted. And so is the PDI-P," he said.

Previously, based on the results of a survey conducted by Indonesian Political Indicators released on Sunday, October 25, it was stated that as many as 47.7 percent of respondents agreed that residents were increasingly afraid to express their opinions and 57.7 percent of respondents thought that the authorities were increasingly arresting those who were different. political views with the authorities.

Regarding these results, Director of the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) Erasmus AT Napitupulu said that figure should be a slap for the government in facing demonstrations from the public.

"The Political Indicator Survey which shows that there has been a decline in the assessment of civil liberties in Indonesia and the tendency of repressive apparatus should be a slap in the face of the current Indonesian government. Due to violations of the constitution, namely Article 28I paragraph (5) of the 1945 Constitution which states guarantees of upholding and protecting human rights with the principle of a democratic rule of law, "Erasmus said as quoted in his written statement, Wednesday, October 28.

ICJR said that the authorities often carry out repressive actions and do not see the limits of their authority as regulated in legislation. One proof of this is when the Omnibus Law Cipta Kerja action took place this October.