Novianti Setuningsih, Jakarta – Amnesty International Executive Director Usman Hamid says the ideals fought for related to civil freedoms have in fact been reversed on the 26th anniversary of the reformasi – the political reform process that began in 1998.
According to Hamid, Indonesia is in fact experiencing a lot of setbacks in the enforcement of the rule of law, freedom of expression and freedom of the press at the moment.
Likewise in relation to respect for human rights and the investigation of cases of gross human rights violations, which are becoming increasingly remote.
"Reformasi has reversed, instead of guaranteeing the right to criticise and control policies, the state has instead narrowed civil space, ignoring the ideals of reformasi", said Hamid in a press statement on Tuesday May 21.
Hamid said the repressive methods that were commonly used during the era of Suharto's New Order regime have reemerged, such as intimidation and attacks on the right of opinion, expression and assembly, as recently occurred in Bali on Monday May 20.
Hamid said that a group called the Nusantara Garuda Patriots (PGN) attacked and broke up a People's Water Forum (PWF) public discussion being held in Denpasar, Bali.
In a video obtained by Amnesty, the group can be seen forcing their way into the event and braking up the discussion, accusing it of being a "counter forum" to the government hosted World Water Forum being held in Nusa Dua.
Hamid said that intimidation and violence often occur when international forums are held in Indonesia. "This is evidence that the state is not serious about guaranteeing freedoms", said Hamid.
He said there is a strong impression that the state borrows non-state elements to "crash" such meetings in order to secure international events.
"We urge the government to stop the intimidation and violence during the PWF 2024. The state must guarantee citizens' rights to gather without coercion", said Hamid.
- The attack on the People's Water Forum can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3vokpDNJAg
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Amnesty Internasional: 26 Tahun Reformasi Malah Putar Balik".]
