PANEL TO DEAL WITH RADICAL WEBSITES by Fardah

 Jakarta, April 3, 2015 (Antara) - The Ministry of Communication and Informatics has finally agreed to set up a panel to deal with websites allegedly promoting radicalism, pornography, and interfaith hatred, following a controversy over the blocking of radical websites.

        On March 29, 2015, the ministry blocked at least 19 websites, at the request of the National Counter-terrorism Agency (BNPT) in its letter number 149/K.BNPT/3/2015, stating that the online media sites promoted radical ideologies and were sympathizers of radicalism.

        "We asked Internet service providers to block the websites this morning at the request of the BNPT. The agency analyzed the sites and found them spreading radicalism. So, we blocked them after we were asked to," a spokesman for the ministry, Ismail Cawidu, said on March 30, 2015.

         The sites are arrahmah.com, voa-islam.com, ghur4ba.blogspot.com, panjimas.com, thoriquna.com, dakwatuna.com, kafilahmujahid.com, an-najah.net, muslimdaily.net, hidayatullah.com, salam-online.com, aqlislamiccenter.com, kiblat.net, dakwahmedia.com, muqawamah.com, lasdipo.com, gemaislam.com, eramuslim.com, and daulahislam.com.

         Initially, he noted, the BNPT requested us to block some 26 sites, but finally confirmed only 19 of them because "two of them were duplicates, four others disappeared, and one was taken down."
    Meanwhile, the Indonesian police claimed that it was they who appealed the BNPT to have the websites closed. The BNPT then passed on the suggestion to the Communication and Informatics Ministry that later blocked the sites.

         "We only made an appeal, following which the BNPT suggested it (the blocking) to the Communication and Informatics Ministry," spokesman for the National Police (Polri) Brig. Gen. Anton Charliyan said at the Police Headquarters on April 1, 2015.

         "The websites were dangerous; their content was provocative. They had to be blocked," the police spokesman stressed.

         In response to questions from the press about protests against the action, he noted that the police did not mind. The sites were blocked based on strong evidence, he added.

         After the Islam-based online media sites were blocked, it triggered protests from the websites' operators and a controversy in the public.

         Responding to the controversy, Vice-President Jusuf Kalla assured that the government will not block all Islamic websites, but only those spreading radicalism.

         "Not all of them (will be blocked). We will not block a website simply because it has an Islamic name. Only those clearly promoting radicalism consistently (will be blocked)," Kalla explained.

         The operators of the blocked websites lodged a protest and complaint to the Ministry of Communication and Informatics on March 31, 2015.

         They denied spreading radicalism or violating Ministerial Regulation Number 19/2014 regarding the handling of online sites carrying negative content.

         They demanded the normalization of their websites in line with Article 16 of the ministerial regulation and removal of their sites from the Trust Positive database.   
    The editors of the blocked sites also complained to Commission I on the Information Affairs of the House of Representatives.

         "Some 22 websites have been blocked by the BNPT. They were blocked without any mediation," Aendra, the editor of Voaislam.com, said in the Parliament Building on April 1, 2015. 
    They also met with Deputy House Speaker Fadli Zon to complain about the action taken unilaterally and without prior notice. 
    Editor in chief of Hidayatullah-online.com Mahyadi denied that his website promoted radical ideologies and asked Parliament to question the reasons behind the government's action.

         Editor in chief of aqislamiccenter.com Agus Sularto suspects there has been an effort to silt the understanding of Islam by spreading islamophobia among the public.

         Fadli Zon of the Gerindra Party said the government's action has been an overreaction and can endanger the freedom of expression. 
    "Initially I thought the websites were questionable, but, in fact, they are credible and have certain integrity," Fadli Zon said.

         "I regret that the BNPT and Communication and Informatics Ministry shut down the websites without a dialog and that their understanding of radicalism has been very shallow," he stated. 
    A number of other legislators also reacted to the blocking.

         "The arbitrary blocking of Islamic websites is deeply regretted. It is tantamount to returning to the repressive and authoritarian regime of the New Order," Almuzzammil Yusuf, also of the Commission I, noted.

         The opinion of experts, religious leaders, and the Indonesian Council of Islamic Scholars (MUI) should be sought before deciding to close a website reportedly promoting radical ideologies, he added.

         In the meantime, Chairman of Commission VIII of Parliament Saleh Partaonan Daulay urged Indonesian Muslims not to overreact to the blocking of the websites and take legal action if they disagree with the measure. 
    He also suggested the establishment of an independent panel to judge whether certain websites promoted radical ideologies in Indonesia.

         "If they find something wrong (on a website), they should first correct it. Only if it seems dangerous should they recommend blocking the website," Daulay stressed in a statement.

         The members of the panel will be chosen from the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI), the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Muhammadiyah, Persis, and other moderate Islamic organizations, explained the legislator who represents the National Mandate Party.

        "Prominent religious figures have the authority to interpret the teachings of a certain religion. The officials of the BNPT and Communication and Informatics Ministry should sit together with prominent Islamic figures from various mass organizations (to discuss the alleged radical content of certain online media sites)," Daulay emphasized.

         The politician also believes that the government should prioritize blocking websites that deliberately promote interfaith hatred.

         Protesting strongly against the government action, a lawmaker of the United Development Party (PPP) faction in Parliament, Reni Marlinawati, cited that the action betrayed reform agenda, violated human rights, and revived the autocratic New Order regime.

         "The government's action of blocking Islamic websites all of a sudden violates the principles of human rights and constitution. It also reflects a betrayal of reform agenda. We are strongly opposed to it," Marlinawati said in a press statement on April 2, 2015.  
    "The government's step reminds us of the New Order regime's ways of censoring views against the government," she pointed out.

         Therefore, the PPP faction has urged the government to unblock the Islamic websites, she noted.

         She considers the allegation that the Islamic websites had been spreading radicalism as a premature and unilateral assessment since there has been no clarification or investigation into it.

         Chairman of the Prosperous Justice Party faction in the House of Representatives Jazuli Juwaini said that the efforts to eradicate terrorism and radicalism should not violate norms.

         He noted the government and community must fight radicalism and terrorism based on the law and blocking websites should be done on a court order.     
   Meanwhile, Commissions I, III, and VIII will demand an explanation from the Communications and Informatics Minister, Religious Affairs Minister, and BNPT on the crackdown on the websites.

        After blocking 19 websites, the government has appealed to news websites in the country to register with the Indonesian domain to ease monitoring. 
   "We appeal to news websites in Indonesia to use .co.id extension and not .com so that they will be registered with the Indonesian domain and their identification will become easier. Many have been using .com instead of .co.id," Minister of Informatics and Communication Rudiantara said on April 2, 2105.

         The ministry also decided to set up a panel to handle websites allegedly promoting radicalism. The panel's members include chairman of the Press Council Bagir Manan, NU figure Salahudin Wahid (Gus Solah), and Muhammadiyah general chairman Din Syamsuddin.

         The ministry has signed an agreement setting up a panel of community figures, including the representatives of the Indonesia Council of Ulemas and the executive board of the Nahdlatul Ulama organization, to gather inputs and views to make the process of blocking websites better and more transparent. ***2***
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