JAKARTA - Member of Commission III of the Indonesian House of Representatives Abdullah criticized the temporary ambush and detention of three students by security forces when they held a peaceful protest during the visit of Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka to Blitar City, East Java. He asked the security forces not to overreact, let alone act repressively to deal with a number of students who wanted to convey their aspirations.
Abdullah assessed that the ambush against students was a form of denial of the constitutional rights of citizens to be free to express opinions guaranteed in the 1945 Constitution.
Article 28E paragraph (3) of the 1945 Constitution states that everyone has the right to freedom of expression. Student actions that unfurl posters of criticism of public policy are clearly expressions of peace, not threats of security," Abdullah said, Saturday, June 21.
"So the security measures that led to hours of detention are a form of restriction on civil liberties that cannot be justified democratically," continued the legislator from the East Java VI electoral district.
As previously reported, three students from the Blitar Islamic Student Movement (PMII) were arrested when Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka visited Blitar City, Wednesday, June 18. The incident began when the three students took action by unfurling a critical poster that reads "Omon-Omon 19 Million Jobs" and "No Stopping Service" when Gibran was about to stop at one of the restaurants.
In a video circulating on social media, the students who unfurled posters of protest when Gibran passed by his car were then arrested by the figure suspected of being the Paspampres RI-2. They were driven until they fell.
The students were then questioned by the local police. According to the police, they were secured as part of the VVIP security procedure.
Although in the end the three students were released, Abdullah underlined the reactive attitude of the apparatus. In a state of law, he emphasized that even criticism of top officials is not a criminal act, but part of public participation that should be protected.
Moreover, in the action, according to Abdullah, there were no elements of violence, hate speech, or actions that threatened the safety of state officials.
"The arrest of students for carrying posters that read questions or criticisms of the Vice President, whatever the narrative is, is a form of overreaction," Abdullah said.
"Aparats should not over-reaction, let alone be repressive like that in responding to the forms of public aspirations that are protected in our constitution. The reactive attitude of the authorities is to create a climate of fear of freedom of expression," he added.
Furthermore, Abdullah highlighted the actions of the apparatus that brought students to a closed place for approximately four hours without legal proceedings and clarity of status. According to him, this police action has the potential to violate the principles of due process of law and open space for abuse of authority.
"The apparatus as a representative of the State in this case should have been present as a protector of the democratic space, not controlling the single narrative of power," Abdullah said.
SEE ALSO:
The member of the House of Representatives Commission for Law stated that security for high-ranking state officials is indeed important. However, Abdullah reminded the authorities not to use security reasons to arbitrarily reduce the aspirations of the community.
"Student actions that are carried out openly and symbolically must be seen as part of a healthy practice of democracy," he said.
Abdullah said democracy is not only about elections, but also about the courage to hear different voices. "If the room for valid and peaceful criticism is responded to by arrest or silencing, then we are presenting democracy which is only procedural, not substantive," Abdullah said.
Abdullah also hopes that there will be no further efforts to silence students structurally. Both through pressure on campuses, intimidation of student organizations, as well as approaches that create a deterrent effect on civil activism.
"We will guard so that there is no further intimidation. Student criticism is part of public control. In fact, public officials need to listen to it openly and responsibly," he said.
As part of the supervisory function, Commission III of the DPR RI is said to continue to ensure that the principles of a state of law are carried out fairly and are not used to protect power from legitimate criticism.
"Healthy democracy can only grow if freedom of expression is maintained, not limited," Abdullah concluded.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
