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View all search resultsTNI move against critic stirs debate over shrinking civic space
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Online influencers and activists from the “17+8 People's Demands“ collective campaign hold posters on Sept. 4 after giving a document of short- and long-term demands to lawmakers at the Senayan legislative complex in Jakarta. (Antara/Dhemas Reviyanto)
T
he Indonesian Military (TNI)’s plan to report online activist Ferry Irwandi for defamation has fueled fresh concerns over the shrinking space for free speech, following a spate of arrests by police of activists and social media users accused of instigating recent nationwide unrest.
Over the past week, the National Police and the Jakarta Police have detained at least a dozen activists and online personalities for their alleged role in provoking riots during weeklong protests from late August to early September.
Initially triggered by lawmakers’ lavish perks, the demonstrations escalated into anger over police brutality, leaving at least 10 people dead and more than a thousand others injured.
On the heels of these arrests, the TNI’s cyber unit commander Brig. Gen. Juinta Omboh Seimbiring announced plans to report Ferry, the CEO of digital education platform Malaka Project, for alleged “defamatory” remarks against the military.
Ferry, a well-known internet personality, has frequently criticized the government throughout the recent protests and was outspoken against the controversial TNI Law revision passed earlier this year.
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TNI spokesperson Brig. Gen. Freddy Ardianzah told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that Ferry’s public statements, be it on social media or television interviews, “may have contained provocative efforts, slander, hatred and disinformation framed to create negative perceptions of the military.”
