Admin Relieved, @Wadas_Melawan Account Can Be Accessed Again After Twitter Admits Its Mistake

JAKARTA – The aftermath of the incident in Wadas Village, Purworejo last week, the Twitter account @Wadas_Melawan, was extinguished. This raises many questions about the efforts to silence the resistance of villagers who reject the andesite mining plan.

So far, the @Wadas_Melawan account is known to be very vocal in fighting for the rejection of the Wadas villagers over the andesite mining plan for the construction of the Bener Dam. This account has been down since Wednesday, February 16, at 02.00 western Indonesia time.

Not only @Wadas_Melawan that went out. However, eight other Twitter accounts belonging to Wadas residents were also inaccessible to their owners. These accounts were also used to voice the same disapproval and activities in the Wadas area that had heated up there.

"Wadas' accounts have been suspended. The remaining eight personal accounts of Wadas residents have also been suspended," the Head of the Research Division of the Yogyakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH), Era Hareva Pasarua, told the media.

However, after being overthrown for some time, the @Wadas_Melawan Twitter account, on Thursday, February 17th, can be accessed again. Twitter clarified that the suspension experienced by the @Wadas_Melawan account was actually a mistake.

"Regarding the @Wadas_Melawan account, there was an error in suspending the account and currently access to the account has been restored," Twitter said to CNNIndonesia.com. Unfortunately, Twitter does not want to explain in detail why an error can occur on the account which is recorded to have 21 thousand followers.

Twitter does have its own rules for content and user posts. They often take action if a Tweet or user account is identified as violating the Twitter Rules. Even the Twitter account of former US President Donald Trump is still suspended due to triggering riots after the elections in the US, in 2021.

Again, the @Wadas_Melawan account was immediately greeted with relief by the admin who immediately posted some content about it.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Communication and Information (Kominfo) ensures that the government does not cut off access to the Twitter account @Wadas_Melawan, which was detected as suspended since Wednesday, February 16.

Spokesman for the Ministry of Communication and Informatics, Dedy Permadi, said that his party remains committed to protecting the rights of citizens by following applicable regulations.

"In the Wadas issue, we emphasize that the Ministry of Communication and Information does not cut off access to the Twitter account @Wadas_Melawan. The Ministry of Communications and Informatics remains committed to continuing to uphold the protection of citizens' rights in accordance with applicable laws and regulations," said Dedy in his short message, Antara, Thursday, February 17th.