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ivil society groups have warned National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti that a decision to issue a circular on hate speech could infringe on freedom of speech, and they have suggested that he be very careful in implementing it.

Setara Institute chairman Hendardi said that the circular was a temporary solution to the police'€™s reluctance to enforce the law against various acts of hate speech, which were targeted mostly at minority groups and religions.

'€œThe circular letter can be regarded as an internal regulation that provides operational guidelines for the police on how to implement rules on hate speech from the KUHP [Criminal Code] and the ITE [Electronic Information and Transactions] Law,'€ Hendardi said.

The circular stipulated that all police officers must fully understand all forms of hate speech so that they could better identify violations of hate speech laws in campaign speeches, on posters, in social media, religious sermons, mass media, or street protests.

Meanwhile, Wahid Institute senior researcher Subhi Azhar praised the circular, saying it was in fact a new instrument for the police to enforce existing regulations on hate speech.

'€œA positive aspect of the circular letter is that it invokes the use of Article 157 of the KUHP on the dissemination of hate speech, a stipulation that has previously not been implemented. So this can be seen as a reeducation [tool] for law enforcers to use in their repertoire,'€ Subhi told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Despite his optimism, Subhi had reservations about the new circular.

He said it referred to a set of rules that did not clearly spell out what could be defined as hate speech, arguing that the existing KUHP was the product of a different era.

He also said that the circular could still be subject to various interpretations, and he therefore urged the police to be prudent in its implementation and involve other institutions like the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) or an ombudsman to monitor the process.

The police'€™s decision to issue the guidelines followed recent religious conflicts such as a mosque burning in Tolikara, Papua, and a church burning in Aceh Singkil, Aceh.

On July 15, a violent mob allegedly affiliated with the Evangelical Church of Indonesia (GIDI) disrupted an Idul Fitri prayer service held by Muslims at a local mosque in Tolikara, killing one person and injuring a dozen others.

On Oct. 13, hundreds of people from the Islamic Youth Movement attacked Suka Makmur village in Aceh Singkil and burned down the Huria Kristen Indonesia (HKI) church, which was allegedly operating without a permit, leaving one person dead.

In both cases, the police claimed that initial provocation made the conflicts turn deadly '€” something the circular intends to address.

With hate speech purportedly mobilizing people to commit radical and often violent actions against minority groups, there is fresh hope that a number of radically minded groups could be targeted by the new guidelines.

Muchsin Alatas, a member of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) '€” a hard-line Muslim group known for its violent campaigns '€” said that the circular would not affect the group'€™s activities.

'€œThe rallies of political parties or other groups also often involve burning things. That'€™s part of the risk we face for struggling to fight for what we believe in,'€ he said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.