Camelia Pasandaran – Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo is drawing intense criticism from rights activists, experts and even Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi for stopping a scheduled antigraft protest on Sunday.

Fauzi demanded Sunday's protest rally by the Anticorruption Civil Society Coalition (Kompak) at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta disband itself, saying it violated a 2007 bylaw on public order. Fauzi also reportedly said he would no longer issue permits for personal events at the traffic circle, saying they would be limited to car-free Sundays and sports events.

But Gamawan Fauzi said that although regional governments had the right to issue public order bylaws, public order itself should be clearly defined within them.

"Though all parties should respect the bylaw, we need to consider how to define public order correctly," he said on Tuesday. "Something that is better left for the press and public to interpret."

The Jakarta chapter of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) called the governor's decision to ban the peaceful rally "illogical in a democracy."

Wahyu Dhyatmika, chairman of AJI Jakarta, said in a media release that Fauzi should apologize to the public. "The Constitution guarantees people's right to express their opinions," he said.

Siti Zuhro, a regional autonomy expert from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said it was improper for the governor to have used the bylaw to protect his own interests.

"Justifying his actions is just a defense mechanism," she said. "The bylaw has not been properly used, and instead it should be adapted to meet society's constant evolution."

Siti labeled Fauzi's move a repressive act by those in power and that protests were "normal" in a democracy." She said Jakarta was the nation's social and political barometer and therefore the governor should "protect the rights of Jakartans to express their disagreement with the government."

Protests, Siti added, should be seen as a form of public participation rather than something that disturbed public order. She also warned Fauzi that he should not overstep his mandate. "This is not his city," Siti said. "He was elected by the people of Jakarta and without them, he'd have no power."