T

he government has retained articles banning communism in a proposed revision of the Criminal Code (KUHP), raising concerns that a crackdown on cultural events and anything else related to the ideology will continue.

Despite adding a provision to protect academic study and analysis of Marxist-Leninist thought, the reluctance to scrap the prohibition reflects the government’s persistent phobia over the political philosophy.

Copying the current KUHP, the ban is covered by articles 219, 220 and 221 in the draft revision.

The director of the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR), Supriyadi Widodo Eddyono, said on Monday that he urged lawmakers to repeal the articles to avoid violating people’s rights to pursue knowledge.

“The definition of Marxism and Leninism [in the articles] is vague and open to multiple interpretations. A state apparatus might use it to crack down or prosecute based on its own interpretations,” he said.

A human rights advocate and former chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights, Ifdhal Kasim, added that every individual had the paramount right to pursue knowledge under every circumstance.

“Indonesia could be the only country in the world that prosecutes its people for their ideologies,” he said

In Article 219, point C, discourse among academics was allowed as long as it was intended for scientific purposes. However, many scholars believe that the point does not clarify the definition of intention.

“We are grateful for that protection, but I think the articles are too dichotomist. I believe learning communism should not be limited to certain people. The whole public should have unlimited access to pursue any knowledge,” the head of Yogyakarta-based Gajah Mada University’s School of Philosophy, Mukhtasar Syamsuddin, told The Jakarta Post over the phone.

Another renowned scholar, Franz Magniz-Suseno, told the Post that limiting access for the public to learn certain subjects would not only violate people’s rights, but would also become a gateway for misconception.

“Prohibition of certain subjects of study will let people get easily fooled by wrong explanations,” he said.

He added that the state indeed prohibits espionage or any attempt to replace Pancasila, but as a subject of study, Marxism could enrich people’s knowledge so that they could have a better understanding and comparison of Pancasila as the state’s ideology.

On several occasions in different places across the country, such as in Jakarta, Bandung and Yogyakarta, authorities have cracked down on movie screenings, discussions, or book launches related to communism.

An international trade law and policy expert with the University of Indonesia (UI), Mahmud Syaltout, explained that even at universities, crackdowns still occur.

In the 19-month-long research he carried out from January last year, he discovered that 52 crackdowns happened across the country, of which 40 were related to communism. (fac)