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Bid to revive Suharto-era defamation clause riles activists
Jakarta Globe - August 5, 2015
"The article was there before," Yasonna said on Wednesday as quoted by Detik.com. "It was presented to the House of Representatives during the SBY presidency," he added, referring to former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Yasonna said that the current proposed provision would be different from that filed by the Yudhoyono administration, which had been heavily criticized by human rights and pro-free speech activists as well as the former president's opponents.
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the largest party in the House and political vehicle of the current president, Joko Widodo, was an opposition party under Yudhoyono.
"In the past, police had the discretion to arrest someone if they felt that person had insulted the president. Now, a formal complaint from the president is needed," Yasonna said. "If there's no complaint, there's no problem."
He said the proposed restriction would not include criticism of a president's policies and actions. "Criticism is not included. We want people to criticize us. The provision only covers personal insults," he added.
President Joko has promised that the article will not be used to silence critics of the administration, including civil society activists and opposition politicians.
The article "protects critical people. Don't get this wrong," he said on Tuesday. "I personally am fine with people insulting me. I deal with them every day. But we have to think about the long term: protecting the presidency as a symbol of the state, not just me personally."
But activists warn that the article, however well-intentioned, poses a threat to Indonesia's democracy and free speech, which were hard won after the ousting of former president Suharto. Similar provisions were used during Suharto's 32-year iron-fisted rule to silence critics and the opposition.
"The definition of what constitutes an insult is not clear," Haris Azhar, from the nongovernmental Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), told Kompas, arguing that the provision was open to multiple interpretations.
"It is not important to include an article on defaming the president. It should be withdrawn instead because it is outdated. The implications are too vast for Indonesia's democracy."
House of Representatives Speaker Setya Novanto on Tuesday asked the government to reconsider the inclusion of the article, in response to the ongoing criticism. However, he agreed that a president needed some form of protection against slander. "It is the job of all to protect the presidency as an institution," he said.
Jimly Asshiddiqie, who as chief justice of the Constitutional Court struck down the Suharto-era defamation provision from the Criminal Code in 2006, dismissed Yasonna's argument that the article would be directed only against those found to be personally insulting the president.
Jimly, who retired from the Constitutional Court in 2008, said that the Criminal Code already gave all Indonesians, including the president, an opportunity to seek litigation if they felt they were the target of slander or libel.
"The presidency as an institution cannot be insulted because it has no feelings," he said. "A president can feel insulted as a person. If that happens, a president has the same rights as anyone else to go to the police." He added that there should be no specific articles on defamation giving the president greater privileges than other citizens.
Source: http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/inclusion-defamation-clause-causes-controversy/.
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