23 Years Of Reform, Amnesty Highlights Narrowing Civil Liberties Space

DOCK BETWEEN/Usman Hamid

JAKARTA - Amnesty International Indonesia highlights the decline of civil liberties rights, including freedom of expression and opinion. This was delivered to coincide with the 23rd anniversary of the reformation.

"Over the last few years, the civil liberties space in Indonesia has narrowed. This is seen in a number of recent incidents ranging from criminalization using problematic articles in the ITE Law to digital attacks against government criticism," Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid said in a statement Friday, May 21.

He then highlighted eight problematic articles in the ITE Law, especially the two multi-interpretation articles namely Article 27 Paragraph 3 on insults and defamation and Article 28 (2) on hate speech based on SARA.

According to him, these two articles become a tool to limit the right to freedom of speech.

This, said Usman, is not only experienced by ordinary citizens but also opposition figures. Moreover, throughout 2020 there were 119 cases of alleged violations of the right to freedom of expression using the ITE Law, with a total of 141 suspects, including 18 activists and four journalists.

Meanwhile, as of May 2021, Amnesty has recorded at least 24 similar cases with a total of 30 victims.

"The latest case for violations of freedom of expression with the ITE Law ensnares Stevanus Mimosa Kristianto. On April 29, 2021, The Police of Metro Jaya designated him as a suspect of defamation. The case began in February 2019," Usman said.

He explained, Kristianto and about 50 colleagues held a demonstration to protest the termination of employment (layoffs) by companies that they considered unilateral.

Kristianto's oration in the demonstration was covered by several online media outlets. In May 2019, the company reported Kristianto to the police for his oration, alleging violating Article 27(3) of the ITE Law on defamation.

Kristianto received a summons and was examined in December 2020, and his fate changed late last month. "Kristianto's case is one of many examples that show the urgency of revision of the multi-interpretation articles in the ITE Law," he said.

"Peaceful disclosure of opinions should not be criminalized using any laws. What's more, in this case, Kristianto does not use electronic media, so how can he be made a suspect of the ITE Law," added Usman.

This raises concerns. Because, after passing the reform period for more than two decades but the freedoms that were fought in 1998 then still happen.

"The swift and decisive action taken by law enforcement officials against those who criticize the government or corporations is also contrary to the authorities' ignorance of the digital attacks experienced by human rights critics and defenders," he said.

Not only that, Amnesty also recorded 66 cases of digital attacks that violated the right to freedom of expression with a total of 86 victims, including 30 activists and 19 academics.

Meanwhile, in 2021, there will be at least 14 cases of digital attacks that violate the right to freedom of expression with a total of 26 victims. Where the highest casualty was 12 people were activists.

"The government must show its commitment to implementing the vision of reform by investigating cases like this and protecting the right of citizens to express their opinions peacefully, even if they differ from the government's views," he concluded.