In the seven-page memorandum, hate speech was identified as instigating hatred based on ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and disability.
Source/Credit: UCA News
By Katharina Lestari & Ryan Dagur | November 4, 2015
Indonesian human rights activists and religious leaders have expressed cautious optimism over new National Police policies on hate speech.
National Police Chief General Badrodin Haiti announced the policies in an internal memorandum issued Oct. 8. Haiti said the memo was aimed at police so that they could better recognize forms of hate speech and then take action, local news site Kompas.com reported.
"It must be seen in a positive way. The good purpose is to prevent social conflicts. With the circular, the police can be more responsive in preventing conflicts in relation to ethnicities, religions, races and tribes," Father Antonius Benny Susetyo, of the Jakarta-based Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace, told ucanews.com on Nov. 3.
"Defaming other people based on their ethnicities, religions, races and tribes must be banned. Universally, we aren't allowed to defame others publicly," he said.
In the seven-page memorandum, hate speech was identified as instigating hatred based on ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and disability.
However, Father Susetyo, former secretary of the Indonesian bishops' Commission for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, cautioned that the new policies should be wisely implemented.
"It should be handled carefully. Don't put it into practice arbitrarily. We need to review it thoroughly so that it won't be misused," he said.
Natalius Pigai of the National Commission on Human Rights said the new regulations were unnecessary, given that Indonesia already had laws in place that addressed hate speech.
Meanwhile, Slamet Effendi Yusuf from Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia's largest Islamic organization, said the new policies would have a positive impact "if it serves only as a guideline for police personnel and not as a means to curb democracy."
Opportunity
Emilia Renita Az, who coordinates the Shia Organization of Ahlulbayt for Social Support and Education, said the police directives were an opportunity to fight for justice, allowing her organization the opportunity to sue anti-Shia groups who use hate speech to attack her community.
Similarly, Firdaus Mubarik, spokesman of the Ahmadiyya Indonesia Congregation, said he believed the new policies could protect Indonesians but questioned whether the directives would be implemented.
He noted that that Indonesia's minority Ahmadiyya Muslim community has long been a target of hate speech from fundamentalist groups.
"There are many forms of hate speech, mostly sermons. But there are also banners, pamphlets and text messages," he said.
Read original post here: Indonesian police taught how to identify hate speech
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