PANELS VOW TO FUNCTION DEMOCRATICALLY IN TACKLING NEGATIVE WEBSITES by Fardah

  Jakarta, April 10, 2015 (Antara) - Four panels newly set up by the Communication and Informatics Ministry to handle websites allegedly containing negative content have promised to work democratically and transparently.   
   "We can no longer be like the New Order - closing down media, no, we cannot do it. We try not to show an authoritarian face," Tjipta Lesmana, a spokesman of a team of panels grouped under the Forum for Handling of Websites with Negative Contents (FPSIBN), stated in the first meeting of the panels on April 6, 2015.

          The forum comprises four panels, respectively Panel I on pornography, violence against children, and Internet security; Panel II on terrorism, racial, ethnicity, and religions (SARA), and hatred; Panel III on illegal investigation, fraud, gambling, drug, food, and narcotics, and Panel IV on intellectual property right.

        Director General for Informatics Application Bambang Heru Tjahjono is the chairman of the forum, which has 11 advisors, including some ministers, the attorney general, the head of the National Agency for Counter Terrorism (BNPT), and prominent figures such as Ahmad Syafi'i Ma'arif, Salahuddin Wahid, Imam B. Prasodjo, and Romo Benny Susetyo.

        Members of the four independent panels comprise government officials, religious leaders, and prominent civil society representatives, who would, from now on, weigh in on the final decision to block access to alleged negative websites.

        They will help the Communication and Informatics Ministry in deciding the criteria and restrictions concerning websites allegedly carrying negative content.

         "Besides this, we will also give suggestions and recommendations to the minister whether certain websites need to be blocked. But, we do not have the authority to execute the blocking, we just recommend," Lesmana said.

         Prior to issuing a recommendation, the forum will call the website operators, he said. The forum will work democratically and in line with the existing laws, he added.

         "We do not close down websites, but limit the public accessibility to negative websites," Communication and Informatics Minister Rudiantara stated during a working meeting with the Regional Representative Council (DPD) on April 9, 2015.

         During the meeting, the forum's Chairman Tjahjono revealed that since early this year, 78 websites have been blocked, but access to 13 of them has been restored. 
    Some 78 videos have also been blocked because they were related to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), he pointed out.

        In the meantime, after holding the forum's first meeting on April 9, Deputy Chairman of FPSIBN Agus Barnas noted that access to 12 websites rather than 13 will be restored, but they will be monitored.

         "We are restoring only 12 out of the 19 blocked websites because only their operators communicated with the forum and that showed their goodwill, besides a dialog that has happened with them regarding the importance of maintaining the integrity of the Unitary State of Indonesia," he stated.

         The 12 websites that have been unblocked are hidayatullah.com, salam-online.com, aqlislamcenter.com, kiblat.net, gemaislam.com, panjimas.com, muslimdaily.net, voa-islam.com, dakwatuna.com, an-najah.net, eramuslim.com, and arrahmah.com.

          According to Barnas, his side is waiting to communicate with the operators of the remaining seven websites.

         "We will wait until the communication happens. We may grant access to their sites based on the panel's considerations," he added.

         Azhar Hasyim, the secretary of FPSIBN, remarked that following the decision of the forum, he has started normalizing the operations of the websites by removing their names from the database of the positive trust, adding that he will later inform all the concerned internet service providers. 
    The seven websites that remain blocked include ghur4ba blogspot.com, thoriquna.com, muqawamah.com, daulahislam.com, and dakwahmedia.com.

        The recent blocking of the Islamic websites by the ministry at the request of the BNPT had drawn criticism from various quarters, including Islamic figure Din Syamsuddin.

         Syamsuddin, who is also the chief of the Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI), recently affirmed that blocking the websites will only spread more radicalism as it causes disappointment.

        "It is not impossible that after blocking 22 websites, 22 thousand more will not emerge," he cautioned.

        Syamsuddin deplored the action, terming it as unwise. He was of the viewpoint that the blocked Islamic websites were moderate and not linked to the violence that the BNPT had accused them of.

         "There are a lot of other websites that carry negative content, including several that attack Islam, and need to be dealt with. There are provocative and pornographic websites as well," he pointed out.

        Meanwhile, several NGOs grouped under the Indonesian Civil Society urged the government to adopt a transparent approach in blocking any websites considered to promote radical ideology.

        The Indonesian Civil Society, comprising the HRWG, the Wahid Institute, AMAN Indonesia, ELSAM, AJA-Asia, and Titiaan Perdamaian Institute, criticized the government for recently blocking allegedly radical websites without following proper procedures and processes.

       The government should also seek opinions regarding the content from independent bodies such as the court, spokesman of the Indonesian Civil Society Rafendi Djamin, who is concurrently the executive director of the Human Rights Working Group (HRWG), noted recently.

        "Such blocking process should be carried out transparently, and opinions on the content must be obtained from a court or other non-political and non-profit independent bodies," Djamin suggested.

        The government must also be able to tender a logical explanation on the reason behind the blocking, he noted.

        The blocking of the online media websites is against the freedom of expression and Internet, as regulated in the existing Indonesian laws, he pointed out.

        "Blocking without following clear procedures has the potential to threaten the freedom of expression, which has so far been upheld by Indonesia as a democratic country," he stated.

         The NGOs supported the government's efforts to ban hate speech on the pretext of religion in the media. However, the measure must also respect the freedom of expression, he noted.

        "The state must establish a standard for blocking online media websites. Without set procedures and transparency, the government's measure would, in fact, tend to be authoritarian that could threaten democracy and human rights," he stated.  
   Another comment on the website-blocking issue also came from Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin who emphasized that any effort to block alleged radical websites should be carried out selectively.

       Of the 19 blocked websites, in fact, not all of them were promoting radical ideology, and therefore, some of them lodged protests, the minister noted on April 9, 2015.

        They protested because they have, so far, normally preached Islamic teachings to Indonesian Muslims, he remarked.

        He stated that the freedom of expression should be respected.

        "Therefore, we are grateful that the Ministry of Communication and Informatics has improved the mechanism to block websites," he affirmed.

        Before deciding to block a website, the authorities must focus on two areas, according to Lukman. First, the authorities must ensure whether the content is against the state ideology, and second, whether the procedure does not violate the law, he noted.

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(f001/INE)