Detik.com - January 8,
2010
Andi Saputra, Jakarta – In
response to the recent banning of five books and moves by Justice and Human
Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar to examine 20 more for possible banning, 83
intellectuals and pro-democracy activists have rejected the banning of books by
the government.
"I don't know how the
minister of justice and human rights understands human rights. This is a step
back for democracy," said one of the declarators of the group Reject Book
Bannings (Menolak Pelarangan Buku), Goenawan Muhamad at the Nikko Hotel on Jl.
MH Thamrin in Jakarta on Friday January 8.
Also present was Indonesian
Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI) advisory board member Adnan Buyung Nasution,
Islamic intellectual Ulil Abshar Abdala, women's activist Nursyahbani
Katjasungkana, Freedom Institute researcher Luthfie Assyaukani, film director
Riri Riza and poet Sitok Srengenge.
The groups said that it if
the government continues banning books, it will create a fear of expressing and
exchanging ideas and inhibit artistic and intellectual exploration. Banning
books will also hamper the free intellectual development of the nation.
"This is a symptom of
retreat from the process of democracy that I challenge," said Nasution.
The banning of books can
only be justified if they obviously spread racial, religious and ethnic hatred
along with propaganda supporting violence or war.
These restrictions should
be applied through a judicial process that is honest, free and unbiased. This
is especially so in the digital era and the internet where banning books will
not stop them from being read.
"I totally reject the
banning of books because it contradicts freedom of expression", concluded
Nursyahbani Kajtasungkana. (asp/fay)
[Translated by James Balowski.]
