Chief of National Police of Republic Indonesia Should Take Action Toward the Movie Screening Dismissal Perpetrated by Police in Indonesian Journalists Alliance (AJI) Office Yogyakarta

The Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS) condemn the act of Operation Section Chief of Yogyakarta City Police Resort (Polresta), Police Commissioner (Kompol) Sigit Haryadi and other police members, which actively forcing to dismiss the Buru Island: Our Homeland Movie Screening in Indonesian Journalists Alliance (AJI) Office Yogyakarta.

Regarding the movie screening itself, it was planned to be held in AJI Office Yogyakarta on Tuesday, May 3, 2016 in the Commemoration of World Press Freedom Day. Nonetheless, the movie screening was not continued at the end after the apparatus from Polresta Yogyakarta with the Retiree Youth of National Military Forces (TNI) and National Police (Polri) Communication Forum (FKPPI) mass organisation visited AJI Office and forced them to dismiss the event with the reasons of the event did not obtain permission and there were external conflict threats. Kompol Sigit Haryadi event clearly stated that the police members will not guarantee the security of the event’s participants if they do not wanted to dismiss themselves. He also actively by his members asked the around Citizen Chairman (RW & RT) to made rejection statement of the event.

In KontraS records, human rights violations incident perpetrated by the police members among Yogyakarta Police District (Polda) law as occurred above was not the first time. Previously, police members of Polda Yogyakarta also several times dismissed other events with the excuse of followed the demand of intolerant groups, for example the dismissal of LadyFast 2016 event and attack to Al-Fatah Islamic Boarding School Yogyakarta.

According to the facts and statements from the police members, we found violations of the rule of law, inter alia:

1. Freedom of expression, assembly and association violation. Act by police members of Polresta Yogyakarta dismissed the movie screening in AJI Office evenmore involving intolerant mass organisation showed deliberate state apparatus on violating freedom of expression and assembly that already guaranteed on article 24 clause (1) Law No. 39/1999 regarding human rights which stated: “Everyone shall have a freedom of assembly, association for peaceful purposes.” In enjoying the freedom of assembly itself, state has an obligation to protect and guarantee security of every person. Statement of police members stated that they will not guarantee the security of the participants if they did not want to dismissed themselves clearly showed the lack of obligation implementation in protecting the freedom of assembly of the event’s participants. Moreover, the act of the police members asked the Chairman of Citizen to make rejection statement showed active action of National Police member to violate the freedom of assembly of the event’s participants.
2. Violation of freedom of information. Article 14 Law No. 39/1999 regarding human rights stated: “(1) Everyone shall have right to communicate and information needed to personal development and their social environment; (2) Everyone shall have a right to seek, have, save, produce, and give information with using every tools available.” This article firmly stated citizen rights to have and spreading information with every tools, which guarantee the journalistics works in Indonesia. One of the information disseminations is from movies, therefore Buru Island: Our Homeland is documentary movie which is a journalistic product. That movie before played in 1965 Symposium on April 18-19, 2016 as well and watched by several state public officials. Therefore, the act of dismissal by Polresta Yogyakarta towards the Buru Island: Our Homeland movie screening violated the rights of the film-makers conducted journalistic works in spreading information. Moreover, right to have information that owned by the participants also violated by the police members in Yogyakarta.
3. Information misdirection related with permission requirements. Statements of police that stated the dismissal was because of the committee was not conducting permission was information misdirection relared with law procedures in conducting freedom of opinion, expression and assembly. The implementation of freedom of expression and assembly stated in the Chief of National Police Guidelines (Juklap) No. Pol/02/XII/95 regarding the Permission and Community Activities Notification and Law No. 9/1998 regarding the Freedom of Speech in front of public (Law of Freedom of Expression). Regulation in Juklap stated that activities should provide crowd permission if involving participant at least 300 (three hundred) people, meanwhile the movie screening in AJI Office only involving less than 300 people. Beside that, Law of Freedom of Expression also regulated to the committee to express notification towards police and did not require permission by the police. Thus, act of Kompol Sigit Haryadi and police member of Polresta Yogyakarta members that already perpetrated the dismissal did not according to the law were the act of information misdirection.

According to te facts and violations above, KontraS urged the Chief of National Police (Kapolri) to:

First, evaluate the ability and leadership of Chief of Yogyakarta Police District (Kapolda) in protecting and guarantee the freedom of assembly, information and spreading information. Evaluation and development shoul conducted as well towards all of the police members to prevent the freedom of assembly violations among the community;

Second, firmly make actions toward Kompol Sigit Haryadi, which already violate the procedures and limiting human rights while conducted the dismissal of movie screening in AJI Office Yogyakarta;

Third, firmly make actions towars the intolerant groups that frequently intimidating and using violence against the freedom of assembly and expression among the community.

Jakarta, May 5, 2016

KontraS Workers,

Haris Azhar, MA

Executive Coordinator