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View all search resultsAnalysis: Civic space shrinks further with arrests of activists and threats on Tempo
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Well-known voice: Editions of 'Tempo' magazine are seen on a bookshelf on Oct. 6, 2024, in this illustration photo. (Shutterstock/landunggrafis) (Shutterstock/landunggrafis)
I
n the aftermath of the August anti-government riots, police have arrested more than 10 activists and social media influencers, charging them with incitement, hate speech, and spreading misinformation that led to violence and encouraged schoolchildren to participate.
The military also got in on the act, filing a defamation complaint against a prominent influencer, while the Defense Ministry filed a similar report against Tempo. The critical news outlet also faces a Rp 200 billion ($12 million) lawsuit from a cabinet minister for defamation.
Civil society groups say the government is suppressing speech, both online and offline, through these actions and through the arrests of hundreds of protesters in Jakarta and other cities where riots broke out. They say police are singling out activists and influencers who were critical during the riots that took place on August 28-30.
The release of protesters and the ending of police attempts to criminalize them is listed as one of the “17 + 8 People’s Demands”, a document compiling the grievances that emerged from the series of protests. The document has become a point of reference for discussion between protesters, represented by public figures, students, and civil society groups, and the government.
President Prabowo Subianto has described these 25 demands as reasonable and promised to look into them. The House of Representatives has acted on some of these demands, including rolling back the huge housing allowance it gave members and suspending five members for statements and actions said to have offended the public.
But when it comes to speech restrictions, Prabowo’s office gave the answer that the government can not interfere with an ongoing legal process, and that the matter should be resolved in court.
Civil society groups see the police's actions more as vengeance after some of their officers were seen engaging in brutality on social media. The turning point of the protests was a live-streamed video, which quickly went viral, of a motorcycle taxi (ojol) driver being fatally run over by a police tactical vehicle on Aug. 28. This triggered even more protests the next day. Seven police officers who were in the tactical vehicle have been suspended.
