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Indonesia Plays with ’Openness’

Philip Gorton writes from Jakarta
***The limited freedom of expression is quickly outpaced by economic progress and material
INDONESIA is easing Into critics charge thal the Hovcrnment^is on£
law put the governinenl cam palgn. which began in earnest
Since violence and Mood shed shook the ncwly-inde pendent country of Indonesia 25 years ago. military and civil tan administrators have argu<-d to keep certain restrictions on Free speech and political activity.
Leading dissidents in Jakarta, only a handful of whom can speak openly on the matter, say democratic freedoms have been emasculated by a system that prohibits po ht leal activity at the village
reside.
'Socially. little has been changed since the late 193Os when every native of the archipelago was portrayed as happy under declaredly benign colonial patronage.- claims a leading political dissident.
I*ossibly the most sensitive question in Indonesia today concerns the issue of corrup tion in President Suharto s family and his plans to continue on as a -President for Life' or step aside and allow free elections in 1992 and 1993.
When a New York Ttmes article published late last year poked fun at the family hold
banned from Indonesia. The MmsitaMi Harald Tribune which ran the story was
Likewise. a ptey M
Rian tar no. which took the same tact with few specific references. was banned last November.
-We have sent a letter to Parliament about nepotism.-said Siamet Bratanata. a leadIng social critic and the leader of the dissident Xi roup of 50 -He (Suharto) Is not the only one. It la a kind of a disease
Artistic suggestions that there to social injustice in the region s most populated coun try have also been struck down. A play about a group of transvestites scrounging out a living in a^city of gaudyjvcaith censors merely said H was loo vulgir
II.J.B. Princen. director of the Institute for the Defense of Human Rights, told Depthnews that basic rights like free speech written into the Constitution have been "annulled by common laws
In 1982 a clause was Included that legally permits I he Indonesian military to meddle tn civilian politics It is known aa iJwifungsi. or the dual function taw
Indonesia la a vast islands and a strong central authority that holds them together Too much pluralism can cause divtsiveness and. worse, minority uprisings, ar gue conservatives who favour limits on 'Keterbukaan.* or
But an emerging voice in the Indonesian military is said to favour a reduced role for the army in civilian affairs. Efe ments within this faction are also said by Western diplomats here to oppose President Suharto's plans to run in the next electian.
Sull, the limited freedom of expression In Indonesia is quickly being outpaced by economic progress and material
They are afraid to give us any sensitive stories." said a newspaper editor In Jakarta, referring to focal reporters.
Military rule is supreme."
One of Indonesia s leading social critics said the stagnation of progress towards more openness faljs directly on the shoulders of Preatdent Suharto
Mr Suharto to telling them that they should be w«-teke a bwk seat Xn has reached that Ma* of uas Mfay - said Siamet Bratanata. a former Minister of Energy and Mines The point Is. who ts going to give the signal? He makes it appear that the Mil tary is holding the people
Mr Suharto believes in the notion that the state to 1 land that those against rm are against the slate's identity." added Mr Bratanata tn an interview with Depthnewa.
i-ast year. the Coordinating Minister for political and Se runty Affairs met with government officials to discuss press freedom. They agreed to stop blacking out of foreign publications, slop calling journalists off stories, and stop closing publications for journalistic offences.
But when the Minister of Information returned from a trip abnstd he was surprised with tlx changes and emerged after a meeting with President Suharto to announce that the threat to f closure would remain. fr—
m hem the tap dowrc"
Patemaksas may have run Na toam In Indis rite, Mm. with voices of dtosent^tgfaj -non Uin'L^ nitte
Though new ««. of dto-r”**- President Suharto one of men. has shown few sings that hr is prywta ta tolerate real appeaittan ta hta W ye-rule.
Suharto has achieved eco
like hit X^hbtuT tare Kuan Yew in Singapore, thal Western-sty Ie pluralism to not
progress To affirm thto. the military has been able to ln»U tultonalise its control over Chilian affairs.
Though Indonesia, an island nation of 190 milfron set in the South Pacific, keeps a tight lid on dissent. II is far removed from the totalitarian Intolerance of China or other Islamic states of the Middle East
Yet. President Suhartos reign remains supreme and without serious challenge Much ef tee eantaai atoam from kmtta on free speech and paean beedi ■■ .meedtog ta
Mtaeeter of Information ta fra-
tude aad moral foundetton- to the minds of tournakato. the p«eh far -hrterbahtam- bee at
net apyrar ta come from the
left, according Io Mr. Bratanata- As for the soidter x^o^xr^
h -id -pmm am Ma
President Suharto to feared for hto willingness to crack military might and subtle re rations BaX^c^d thrto Jonesian military of gross rights violations against minorities in East Timor and tatonJve
The nUhtary treats us as an opposition and sometimes -s an enemy.' said S. Indre Tjahjono. coordinator for Skephi. a radteal envireronen lahsl group that etaints the country's resources are being exploited for the benefit of President Suharto and his close aaaoctalee They tap our
us and interrogate us" be mid tn an interview, esllmung he has been hau led In late at night at feast ten limes.-