Dec 7, 2022 | DFF, Statements
JAKARTA – Indonesia’s recently passed new Criminal Code includes problematic articles that could unduly restrict the right to freedom of religion or belief, freedom of speech and expression, as well as the right to privacy and sexual autonomy. This is a dismaying step backwards for the country, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) denounced today.
“While we understand the need for Indonesia’s Criminal Code, a product of colonial rule, to be revised, we are concerned with the amount of articles included in the Code that could be used to suppress civil rights as during the colonial era. We have made great strides towards democracy since the downfall of Suharto’s dictatorship, and the new Criminal Code threatens to reverse that progress,” said Eva Sundari, APHR Board Member and former Member of the Indonesian House of Representatives, “The government and House claim to have opened room for input from civil society, but that was evidently just for the sake of appearances, as they have largely ignored objections from academics, experts and human rights defenders.”
The chapter ‘Crimes against Religion, Beliefs and Religious Life and Beliefs’ dangerously places “religion or belief” under the purview of the law, and the inclusion of an article that prohibits publicly showing “contempt” against religious leaders can be used against religious minorities, who have often been the target of blasphemy laws in Indonesia in the past.
In the last decade, the use of blasphemy laws in the country has skyrocketed. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) awarded Indonesia the dubious honor of being one of the 10 countries that most frequently enforce such laws, alongside Pakistan, Iran, Russia, India, Egypt, Yemen, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
“Blasphemy laws only perpetuate intolerance and inter- and intra-religious conflict. This is particularly dangerous in a country as diverse as Indonesia, where peaceful coexistence and dialogue between different religious and ethnic groups should be encouraged,” said Sundari.
Besides the articles on religion, there are numerous other articles that threaten the hard-won rights to freedom of speech, expression, and assembly. One of them prohibits the spreading of communist and Marxist-Leninist teachings as well as that of “other ideologies that are contrary to Pancasila”. Other articles prohibit insults against the President, the Vice President, the government, and state institutions. The definitions in these articles are far too broad, opening up the door for them to be used against critics of those in power, said APHR.
Another article criminalizes holding unsanctioned public protests or demonstrations, in clear contradiction to the spirit of the Reformasi movement that brought about democratic reforms to Indonesia.
The articles criminalizing extramarital and premarital sex between two consenting adults as well as cohabitation of unmarried couples amount to another step backwards which clearly violates citizens’ right to privacy and opens up avenues for further persecution of the LGBTIQ community in the country.
“By drafting these problematic articles and allowing them to pass, the Joko Widodo administration has failed to live up to the commitment to democracy and human rights that it has so often claimed to espouse. The very least that President Joko Widodo can do is open the possibility for changes and judicial reviews within the next three years, before the new Criminal Code is fully in effect, and enact regulations that put strict limits on the articles that threaten human rights,” added Sundari.
Jun 29, 2022 | DFF, FoRB, Opinion Articles
By Eva Kusuma Sundari.
Almost a quarter of a century after the Indonesian people put an end to the dictatorship of General Suharto and embarked on a democratic transition uniquely successful in Southeast Asia, the country now finds itself at risk of taking major steps backwards on fundamental freedoms with the proposed overhaul of its Criminal Code.
If approved, some of the proposed changes would severely curtail the right to privacy and freedom of expression for Indonesians, and religious and sexual minorities would be vulnerable to legal abuses. According to the local human rights organization Aliansi Nasional Reformasi KUHP, the Draft Criminal Code contains 24 problematic provisions, ranging from the crime of insulting the president or the vice president and the criminalization of extramarital sex and cohabitation to crimes against religion.
The updating of the Indonesian Criminal Code, which dates back to the era when the country was a Dutch colony, is long overdue. But it is more important for lawmakers to get it right than do it hastily, and end up with another code reminiscent of colonial times, detrimental to democracy and good governance. They also need to be fully open with the citizenry about the process and the contents of the new draft, and allow more participation from civil society and the Indonesian public at large. Once adopted, the new Criminal Code will not be easy to amend, so any change adopted now is bound to have a long-term impact.
The process has been enormously tortuous so far. Initiated more than two decades ago, the overhaul has gone through several bumps and reversals. The draft was eventually finished in September 2019, and it was expected to be approved that year. But a huge popular movement opposed it, holding mass protests across the country that sometimes turned violent and resulted in five deaths. The bill was sent to parliament that year for deliberation and has been stuck there ever since.
But in late May this year, the government and the parliament discussed the modification of problematic provisions contained in the draft, and agreed to follow up the process without reopening discussions on the proposed legislation. The committee tasked with drafting the changes in the Criminal Code has done so behind closed doors, without consulting civil society or even new MPs, arguing that the draft “has already been agreed by the committee.”
The government and parliament argue that it is a carry-over bill, a law that has gone through deliberations and is slated to be voted in the next parliamentary session, suddenly showing a haste that, after so many years, is uncalled for. These maneuverings have been described by Muhammad Isnur, head of Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), as “symptoms of authoritarianism.”
Despite claims by the government that 14 unpopular provisions have been amended, the draft Criminal Code remains potentially discriminatory on certain points, excessively punitive on others, and generally detrimental to democratic principles.
One of the most problematic aspects of the draft is its blasphemy article. Human Rights Watch has denounced the fact that it expands the 1965 Blasphemy Law and increases the number of “elements of the crime” to include, for instance, the defamation of religious artifacts.
This is particularly worrying given that blasphemy cases have skyrocketed in recent years. According to the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), there were 38 cases between January and May 2020, whereas SETARA Institute recorded a total of only six cases in 2014. Religious minority groups like the Shia, Ahmadi, Baha’i, or Jehovah’s Witnesses are usually the main victims of blasphemy laws, with legal processes often initiated by public pressure. And some of the people charged with blasphemy are minors.
As Islamists are gaining ground amid what some scholars have termed a “conservative turn” in Indonesia, the last thing that the country needs now is to widen the scope of its Blasphemy Law. If the Indonesian government is serious about protecting freedom of religion or belief for its people, it should scrap the law.
The LGBTIQ community will fare no better. The punishment of extramarital sex and cohabitation can potentially be used against homosexual couples, who do not have the right to marry, while the criminalization of “obscene acts” in public can also be used to target LGBTIQ people.
Also, some of the new provisions could drastically restrict the space for political debate. One of the articles would make it punishable to “attack the honor and dignity of the President and the Vice-President.” Other problematic articles include jail sentences for “spreading Marxist-Leninist teachings” or for association with Marxist organizations “with the intent of changing the policy of the government.”
The revision of the Criminal Code is a major legal project that will affect all Indonesians one way or another. And it should not be aimed at strengthening the government’s authority, but at protecting the rights of all Indonesians. If the government wishes to keep to the democratic path that Indonesia chose 24 years ago, it should reopen the debate on the draft with civil society, and listen with special attention those who would be most negatively affected by the proposed laws, including religious and sexual minorities, in order to make sure that laws are designed to protect them, not to persecute them.
Eva Kusuma Sundari is a board member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), and a former member of Indonesian House of Representatives.
This article first appeared in The Diplomat.
Apr 8, 2022 | FoRB, Statements
JAKARTA – Parliamentarians from Indonesia and civil society organizations warn that blasphemy laws pose a threat to freedom of religion or belief and social harmony, and urge the Indonesian Government and Parliament to use the opportunity afforded by the overhaul of the Criminal Code to substantially amend the existing legislation or repeal it completely.
In “Revisiting the Blasphemy Article in the RKUHP”, a public discussion held on 7 April 2022 and organized by ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) and the Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), several stakeholders voiced their concerns about the current Blasphemy Law and the proposed amendments included in the new draft of the Criminal Code.
The public discussion,which was streamed in Facebook, Zoom and YouTube, included Taufik Basari, Member of the Indonesian Parliament; Dr Zainal Abidin Bagir, Director of the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS); Fitria Sumarni, of the Legal Committee of Ahmadiyah Congregation Indonesia; Luluk Nur Hamidah, a representative from the Legislative Council of the Parliament; and Djoko Pudjirahardjo, head of the National Legal Planning Agency, at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights.
During the event, Government representative Djoko Pudjirahardjo said the Government was planning to re-submit the RKUHP to the Parliament in June. He stated, ”We encourage all parties concerned to closely follow the debates on the bill to assure the needs and desires of the population are fulfilled.”
Eva Sundari, board member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) and a former Indonesian Member of Parliament (MP) also added, “It is imperative to involve the public in the discussion of the Criminal Code, and I hope the public can express their aspirations and therefore participate in directing social changes.”
The latest version of the Criminal Code still includes a blasphemy article that reads: “Anyone who expresses in public opinions or commits hostile acts or blasphemy against the religion professed in Indonesia shall be sentenced to a maximum imprisonment of 5 (five) years or a maximum fine of category V.” The existence of the blasphemy article is very worrying in Indonesia.
According to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Indonesia is one of the top ten countries that most frequently enforced blasphemy laws between 2014 and 2018, and according to the SETARA Institute and the Indonesia Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) the number of blasphemy cases have increased in the past year.
“Now is a golden opportunity to revise or repeal the blasphemy article. If we do not do it, historical opportunities will be lost,” said Zainal Abidin Bagir, Director of the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS), during the panel.
The crime of blasphemy has been part of Indonesian Law ever since independence and has restricted the right to freedom of religion or belief, in particular of religious minorities, and threatened social harmony.
“We must ensure that the bill is not biased against minority groups because Indonesia is a pluralistic country,” said Luluk Nur Hamidah, a representative from the Legislative Council of the Parliament.
“We hope that the revision of the blasphemy law such as in the RKUHP and PNPS will be carried out soon, as ordered by the Constitutional Court,” said Fitria Sumarni, of the Legal Committee of Ahmadiyah Congregation Indonesia.
The new Criminal Code should respect the rights of religious minorities, often harmed by the blasphemy laws, and the Government and Parliament should establish a legal framework which protects human rights. Reviewing or abolishing the blasphemy law would be essential to attain that goal, said APHR.
Click here to read this statement in Bahasa Indonesian.
Nov 9, 2020 | Statements
JAKARTA – Draft amendments to Indonesia’s Criminal Code currently being debated in the House of Representatives would, if approved, severely violate the rights to privacy and to non-discrimination in the country, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) said today.
The collective of regional lawmakers called on members of the Indonesian Parliament to reject the amendments, which propose to expand the definition of adultery and criminalize consensual sex between unmarried persons, potentially including same-sex relationships.
“These amendments are a blatant violation of all Indonesians’ right to privacy and their fundamental liberties. It is extremely worrying that private affairs between two consenting, law-abiding adults could very soon be opened to government interference and scrutiny,” said APHR Board Member Teddy Baguilat, a member of the House of Representatives of the Philippines.
“For a country that has rightly considered itself a leader within the ASEAN region on issues of human rights, this would be a clear move in the wrong direction. Indonesia should be protecting the rights of its citizens, rather than exposing them to increased harassment and prosecution,” he added.
Regional MPs expressed concern about the proposed amendments’ implications for LGBT rights in the country, particularly within the wider context of a dramatic rise in hostility against the LGBT community from militant Islamists, state authorities, and mainstream religious organizations. According to reports, in 2017 alone, more than 300 LGBT persons were picked up during police raids, and eight men were imprisoned under the Pornography Law. On 27 January 2018, police in the province of Aceh reportedly arrested 12 transgender women, whom they forcibly stripped and beat before releasing them without charge.
“If passed, these changes to the Criminal Code will reinforce existing prejudices and discrimination faced by an already vulnerable community in Indonesia, and legitimize ongoing bullying, homophobic violence, and police abuse,” Baguilat said.
Regional lawmakers also noted that support for these revisions comes at a time of growing religious extremism in the country. In the last few years, there has been a rise in violations of freedom of religion or belief in Indonesia, which have included attacks on places of worship and the use of the country’s ill-defined blasphemy law.
APHR urged Indonesian legislators considering the amendments to bear in mind Indonesia’s constitutional commitment to non-discrimination and equality before the law, as well as the principles of the state ideology of Pancasila, which include respect for humanity and the freedom to choose one’s religion or belief.
“It is critical that the House of Representatives rejects these amendments, as currently written, in order to ensure that Indonesia’s status as an open, pluralistic country remains intact,” Baguilat said.
