[Reader-list] Internet Sensorship in Indonesia

[Gustaff Harriman Iskandar]

This might be a bit bizzare for you as we have reaching a time of
openness and connectivity over the internet age. As you might have
noticed that Indonesian government is planning to put more attention on
internet control and censorship. On 25th of March, 2008 they have
released new law on information and electronic transaction act (UU IT),
which opens possibility to limit and criminalize internet user. Last
year, a women named Prita Mulyasari has been accused and sent to jail
because of this bill. Fortunately, internet user in Indonesia has been able to rise public pressure, were Prita is finally free after a very long trial in December 2009.

On a writings entitled From War-net to Net-war: The Internet and Resistance Identities in Indonesia (Merlyna Lim, Elsevier Science Ltd., 2003), Merlyna Lim stated that “The
Internet, which came to Indonesia during the early phase of the
political crisis in the 1990’s, economically and politically has risen
to become an alternative media that is no longer under state control, thus bolstering civil society in its resistance to state and corporate domination.” I supposed we all agree that internet is critically important to strengthen civil society as it is an important tool for freedom of expression and access to information and knowledge.

Just
today, I have received news from my friend telling me that our
government have plan to initiate a Council for Internet Censoship. I've
tried to translate the page using google translate as it is written in
Bahasa Indonesia:
http://translate.google.com/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.postel.go.id%2Fupdate%2Fid%2Fbaca_info.asp%3Fid_info%3D1422&sl=id&tl=en

I
know this has been an issues for some period of time, especially in
terms of repressive control over the internet and rights to have access
to information and knowledge. I hope all of you can circulate this
information and rising public support for free access for internet in
Indonesia.  

Viva la Liberte!
- Gustaff