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Jakarta Post

Editorial: Growing pains

One more person has paid for a personal opinion posted on social media — but again the bullying against her ended in reports filed with police and the threat of criminalization

The Jakarta Post
Wed, September 3, 2014

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Editorial: Growing pains

O

ne more person has paid for a personal opinion posted on social media '€” but again the bullying against her ended in reports filed with police and the threat of criminalization. Following widespread reports at the immediate detention of Gadjah Mada University (UGM) graduate law student Florence Sihombing, UGM Rector Praktikno visited the police in Yogyakarta.

Several civil society groups had reported Florence to the police for insulting the people of Yogyakarta via her Path account, after being told at a gas station not to jump the queue. Florence has profusely apologized to Yogyakartans and Governor Hamengku Buwono X, while the police have reminded the public that the groups who reported her for defamation had every right to do so.

Charged under the 2008 Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law, she faces a maximum prison sentence of six years and a fine of Rp 1 billion (US$85,252). The university, meanwhile, said Florence would be summoned to its ethics board, though it has not ruled out taking legal action itself.

We believe that everyone should pause before getting out their gadgets and sending all their private '€” and possibly offensive '€” thoughts off into cyberspace. Young and old alike need to become much more mature in light of the ease of communication provided by today'€™s technology.

But the ITE Law, under which Florence is charged, must also be amended, as our freedom of expression, which is guaranteed in the Constitution, is at risk of being stunted just as it was under the decades of Soeharto'€™s rule.

While one of the purported aims of the law was to protect us from Internet fraud and other cyber crimes, given our increasingly wired daily lives, certain vague articles in the law have increasingly been used in cases of alleged defamation and inciting hatred. Interestingly, the articles reflect similar clauses in the Criminal Code (KUHP), but the latter carry a lesser penalty.

Netizens have insisted that clauses in the 2008 law that are regarded as excessive should be deleted. According to data by the Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (Safenet), a group that advocates Internet freedom, 25 people have been charged under the law from 2008 through 2013. They include Alexander Aan, the civil servant jailed for a comment he posted on his Facebook page in which he proclaimed himself an atheist. Safenet argues that, given the number of police reports filed by influential people, the law is being used to discourage criticism '€” including criticism of corrupt politicians.

In Indonesia, a model of democracy in Southeast Asia, the ITE Law can be viewed as contradicting the reformasi spirit of upholding civil liberties.

Citizens are indeed entitled to protection against defamation and insults. But as many have quite rightly asked: Where is the justice in the Yogyakarta Police immediately arresting a student for a reckless comment, while corrupt individuals are awarded lenient sentences and while the police fail to prevent violence against minorities in the city, which is renowned for its tolerance?

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