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Critics slam UI ‘repressive’ move against student body’s criticism of Jokowi
Activists have slammed the University of Indonesia's move to summons members of its student body following a post criticizing President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo that called him the "King of Lip Service".
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University of Indonesia (UI). (Shutterstock/Ipang Budiarto )
The University of Indonesia’s (UI) summonsing of its student body for posting criticism of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on social media has been met with condemnation from rights activists, who have described the move as “repressive” and a restriction on freedom of expression.
On Saturday, the university’s Student Executive Body (BEM UI) posted a series of pictures of President Jokowi accompanied by the caption “Jokowi: King of Lip Service” on its Instagram handle @bemui_official.
“Jokowi often makes his sweet promises. But in reality, he rarely fulfills them,” it wrote in the caption. “All indications are that his words are nothing more than mere ‘lip service’.”
In the next photos, the BEM UI provided examples of the mismatch between Jokowi’s words and actions, such as Jokowi’s promise to amend the controversial Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law. Activists say the law is often used to prosecute critics and limit freedom of speech.
