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Bali Nine lawyer joins Indonesians warning against return to Suharto censorship
Sydney Morning Herald - October 25, 2015
Gianyar police chief Farman told Fairfax Media there was also a 1999 criminal code which made the spreading of communism, Marxism and Leninism in public a punishable offence with a maximum sentence of 12 years' jail.
The censorship is unprecedented in the 12-year history of the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival, billed as South-east Asia's biggest cultural and literary event.
Three panels on the mass killings, Joshua Oppenheimer's film "The Look of Silence" and the launch of his book "The Act of Living" were all cancelled on Friday, just days before the festival was to start.
The Herb Feith Foundation also announced the cancellation of the launch of English translations of three books on the mass violence intended to expose international audiences to one of the darkest chapters of Indonesia's history.
Mr Farman said police had reminded organisers of the festival of the government prohibition before the festival began so the entire event would not have to be shut down.
"It's better that we do it now, better than they show it (The Look of Silence) and we have to cancel it, it would be chaotic. We don't want that, we fully support (the festival)," Mr Farman said.
He said the Indonesian government sanctioned "competent" people to talk about the events of 1965. However if the panellists were people who had no knowledge of 1965 and were not competent, it may cause audiences to perceive the events of 1965 differently.
"It might be seen as spreading the communist belief, it might corner the government, in the end it will cause problems. We don't want problems," Mr Farman said.
Scheduled speakers at the events included writer Putu Oka Sukanta, who was imprisoned for 10 years without trial in 1966 for suspected leftist leanings, Indonesian historians Katharine McGregor, Baskara Wardaya, who teaches history at a university in Yogyakarta, and activists Ngurah Termana and Galuh Wandita.
Dismay over the controversial ban is to be conveyed to one of Indonesian President Joko Widodo's most trusted ministers.
Leading human rights lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis, who represented Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, will discuss the censorship during a meeting with the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Luhut Panjaitan, on Monday.
"This is not only over-reacting from the government, it is an act of killing towards freedom of expression," Professor Mulya told Fairfax Media.
Professor Mulya said the censorship was diametrically opposed to the spirit of the post-Suharto era of reformasi, when Indonesians were granted human rights and freedom of expression. "I would like to remind Pak Jokowi and Pak Luhut that this is the wrong policy. We should not go back to the past," he said.
Human rights activist Galuh Wandita wrote in an email that she was thinking about lodging a complaint with the National Commission of Human Rights in Indonesia, Komnas HAM.
An open statement has been issued by 172 writers, journalists, activists and artists condemning the growing repression of freedom of expression.
They cited the deportation last week of Tom Iljas, who was in Sumatra visiting the grave of his father, a victim of the 1965 massacres, the recall of a student magazine that featured stories on the 1965 killings and the censorship of the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival.
"(Former president) Suharto may be gone but the guards of the old regime are still watching the people's moves and in many cases launching oppressive action to shut down people's freedom," it said. (With Amilia Rosa)
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