Illustration.(KompasTekno/Wicak Hidayat)

The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) has urged the National Police not to include criticism of the government in its definition of hate speech as that would only restrict freedom of expression.

AJI chairman Suwarjono said that the police's circular on hate speech, issued last month, had blurred the universal lines of hate speech.

He said that legal action against people who spread hate speech had to be conducted without violating citizens' rights to express themselves, as was stipulated in the Constitution and also in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which have been ratified by Indonesia.

"We demand the National Police only use the standard definition of hate speech, as stated in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, because unclear guidelines will harm freedom of expression," he said on Thursday in a press statement sent to thejakartapost.com.

"Expressing criticism toward the government must not be criminalized as hate speech."

Suwarjono also made reference to hate speech-enforcement theory from a joint statement by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Organization of American States (OAS).

Legal enforcement of hate speech laws must, Suwarjono said, be required to prove that the hate speech had provoked hatred, discrimination and/or violence.

National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti issued the circular on hate speech last month to provide guidelines for police personnel for managing hate speech and preventing cases of it escalating into violent social conflict.

In the circular, Suwarjono urged police to quickly act on any hate speech targeting a person or group'€™s religion, faith, ethnicity, race or sexual orientation, but AJI viewed the circular as being in support of certain political interests.

"We feel that it was issued to silent critics of government officials and institutions," he said.

The issue was raised after Badrodin said earlier this week that the police could probe a possible case of defamation against President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo after a false report of his visiting the indigenous Anak Dalam tribe in Jambi went viral.

Human rights activists have previously slammed the circular, fearing that it would hamper democracy and restrict freedom of expression.

Badrodin had rejected those claims, suggesting that the circular is meant as guidelines for police personnel in dealing with hate speech cases as he found many officers in the field were not confident in dealing with the offence. (rin)(+)

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