I

ndonesia is internationally recognized as the world’s third-largest democracy after India and the US. A regional NGO, however, has warned the nation of the return of restrictive practices massively implemented during Soeharto’s era.

According to data compiled from January 2015 to May 2016 by the Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFENET), there has been an increasing number of crackdowns on freedom of expression in both real life and on the internet.

Starting from 2016, there have been at least four violations of freedom of expression each month, the data showed.

Meanwhile, in 2015, there were usually less than four violations each month. In total, there were 50 violations from January 2015 to May 2016.

The highest increase occurred in May 2016, when as many as 14 violations were recorded.

“It was probably caused by lots of events held [in that month], such as the commemoration of the Papua referendum, May Day, World Press Freedom Day and 1998 May Tragedy Commemoration Day,”
SAFENET said.

According to the data, the violations came mostly in the form of the banning of film screenings, comprising 38 percent of the violations, followed by bannings of discussions or seminars at 30 percent.

Movies that got negative reactions were Senyap (Silent) with 10 bannings, Pulau Buru Tanah Air Beta with five, Alkinemokiye and Samin vs Semen, both with one. These movies were mostly banned when they were about to be screened on campuses.

Senyap, a groundbreaking documentary on the 1965 communist purge, created controversy after the Film Censorship Institute (LSF) banned the public screening of the movie, reasoning that it would lead viewers to sympathize with the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) and communism in December 2014.

According to the data, Yogyakarta experienced the largest number of violations of freedom of expression with 28 percent, tainting the city’s reputation as Indonesia’s melting pot, where people from all ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds live in harmony. There were only 12 cases in Jakarta.

Since its passing in 2008, the Electronic Information and Transaction (ITE) Law, which mandates criminal punishment for anyone who purposely and without authority distributes electronic information or documents with libelous or defamatory content, has criminalized 200 people.

The number of people criminalized has exploded in recent years, reaching 62 people in 2015, compared to just two in 2008, the data showed. 90 percent of the cases were defamation cases.

“We believe that what’s happening online is related to the repression happening in our daily lives,” SAFENET regional coordinator Damar Juniarto told The Jakarta Post.

The state-sanctioned National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) played down the report, arguing Indonesia is much freer and more democratic now compared to the old era.

Komnas HAM chairman Imdadun Rahmat said the state of freedom of expression in Indonesia in general is now much better compared to the New Order.

Since the nation embarked on the reform movement 18 years ago, the government has taken several steps to uphold the freedom of speech and democracy, including through the implementation of the 1999 Press Law, the 1999 Human Rights Law, an amendment to the human rights provision in the Constitution and the ratifications of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).

“However, there are still some problems, especially related to minority groups, including those from different religions, beliefs, sexual orientation and political groups,” Imdadun told the Post.