W

hen the House of Representatives passed the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law in 2008, activists were concerned that some articles in the revised law would be used to silence critics by the powers that be.

That prophesy is not way off the mark.

While some people may claim to have a strong legal ground to press charges against those who spread lies against them, there is no denying that people close to power have been using the
law to punish their critics, according to the Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet).

The latest example of that, activists say, is the move made by an organization linked to the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) to report journalist-cum-activist Dandhy Dwi Laksono to the East Java Police for writing a Facebook status comparing PDI-P leader Megawati Soekarnoputri and Myanmar State Counselor Aung Saan Suu Kyi.

The PDI-P’s Democratic Struggle Volunteers (Repdem) accused Dandhy of defaming Megawati for likening what Megawati did with regard to the persecution of native Papuans in the restive province of Papua to Aung Saan Suu Kyi’s failure to halt the persecution of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Rakhine State.

Dandhy was the 35th activist accused of violating the ITE Law since 2008 and the 28th case recorded since President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo took office in 2014, according to SAFEnet.

“There are more cases reported under Jokowi’s administration, which show a trend that opinions [of activists] are no longer considered as constructive input for the government, and the [ITE] law is instead used as a repression tool,” SAFEnet regional coordinator Damar Juniarto told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

He said that activists, particularly anticorruption activists and environmental activists, as well as journalists, fell under categories prone to criminalization by the ITE Law. They were mostly reported by public officials offended by their statements in social media.

In August, for instance, anticorruption activist Mohamad Aksa Patundu was reported for defamation after the
activist exposed alleged involvement of Tojo Una-Una Police head Adj. Sr. Comr. Bagus Setiyono in a corruption case through his Facebook account, Damar said.

“These are the people who stand on the front line to control the government and criticize injustice, but instead they face criminalization,” Damar said, adding that the phenomenon threatened the checks and balances of a democratic country.

Dandhy, who was named a 2008 best journalist by the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), argued in his Facebook status on Sept. 3 that right after the PDI-P regained power with Jokowi’s victory in the 2014 presidential election, more people had been arrested in Papua than in previous years.

In the penultimate paragraph of his status, Dandhy wrote that a total of 1,083 Papuans had been arrested, more than the 548 people arrested during the administration of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

PDI-P’s Repdem in East Java accused Dandhy of implying that the PDI-P and Jokowi were persecuting the people of Papua. PDI-P politicians have since demanded that Dandhy apologize for what they believe is an article based on “fake analysis.”

In the wake of Repdem’s move, there has been mounting support from internet users in social media to support Dandhy through hashtag #IStandWithDandhy.

“If it is a hoax, I am really open if [the PDI-P] can show me the wrong parts and explain their perspective,” Dandhy said, adding that the party could easily counter his argument with another statement instead of filing a report to the police.

Meanwhile, AJI chairman Sumarjono condemned Repdem’s move, saying Dandhy was a victim of parties who tended to be against any criticism.

He said the worse threat was actually the existence of draconian articles in the ITE Law, which could criminalize anyone expressing their opinion in social media. “This is a new threat to the freedom of speech in Indonesia,” Sumarjono told the Post.