Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – The National Police have declared a war against hate speech on social media by arresting two people in Jakarta and Banten for posting racist messages on the web related to the recent anti-Chinese riot in Tanjung Balai, North Sumatra.
But questions have arisen whether the police are capable of carrying out a zero-tolerance approach to combat hate speech, with some minority groups still being left defenseless in the face of verbal attacks.
A 30-year-old English teacher in Banten, identified only by her initials FAB, was arrested for posting a racist comment relating to the Tanjung Balai riot. The police nabbed FAB at her office in Rangkas Bitung on Wednesday after she posted a racially charged comment on her Facebook account.
A day earlier, the police arrested a 41-year-old man named Ahmad Taufik for calling on all Muslims to repeat the bloody 1998 anti-Chinese riots on his Facebook page. He also mentioned the Tanjung Balai riot, which saw 12 temples looted and burned down.
The riot was triggered by people provoked by social media posts falsely saying that people of Chinese descent in the city had banned mosques from voicing the adzan (call to prayer).
It is unlikely that Ahmad triggered the riot as he made his post on Aug. 31, while the riot occurred a day before. The police, however, decided to arrest him.
According to the Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network, hate speech like the Tanjung Balai case should be processed in accordance to the law.
"Freedom of expression clearly has its limitations. Don't mix freedom of expression with hate speech because hate speech is not freedom of speech. In fact, it's a great enemy of freedom of speech," the network's regional coordinator Damar Juniarto told The Jakarta Post.
The riot is among the first challenges for the new National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian. He has warned people against hate speech, which he blamed for the unrest, issuing a reminder that they could be subjected to the 2008 Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law.
Last year, the National Police issued a circular, instructing the entire force on how to identify, prevent and handle hate speech.
"Hate speech issues must be handled carefully because it could undermine our nation's principle of living in accordance with Bhinneka Tunggal Ika [Unity in Diversity]," the circular said.
The circular identifies expressions of hate speech that target groups and individuals on the basis of their ethnicity, faith, religion, race, gender, handicap or "different abilities", sexual orientation and "intergroup differentiations".
While the circular mentions gender and sexuality, some doubt the police would take action against those spreading hate against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.
In February, former Communications and Information minister Tifatul Sembiring, who has 1 million followers, tweeted that homosexuals should be killed. The sudden increase in public expressions of hatred toward LGBT people in Indonesia has reportedly led to LGBT communities establishing hotlines and safe-houses.
The government's hostile view toward LGBT people, even when the community is targeted with hate speech, means that the government has openly engaged in discrimination against LGBT people, according to Damar.
"The government has to take a zero-tolerance approach in handling hate speech," he said. "It's clear they haven't done that, especially when it comes to LGBT people. The state and the public are waging a war on them. That's clearly discriminatory."
According to human rights watchdog the Setara Institute, differing views between hate speech toward LGBT people and hate speech toward non-Muslims is one of the problems of hate speech regulations.
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/06/police-cherry-pick-war-against-hate-speech.html