OPINION: Mortality in Freedom of Opinion

The Emergency of Democracy in Indonesia seems to be increasingly manifesting itself. The indocator of this can be seen from the many cases of criminalization experienced by many people for exercising their right of freedom and assembly. YLBHI data in 16 provinces stated that there were 6,128 people who were victims of violations of freedom of opinion and bourgeois throughout 2019. The data showed violations of civil liberties at the beginning of the second period of President Joko Widodo were quite bad.

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The government's overreaction to criticism delivered by the public is a form of immaturity and the unpreparedness of the government in dealing with society in the era of information disclosure. This can then be seen in 2020, various cases occurred, including Ruslan Buton who criticized President Joko Widodo which had to end with a pick-up by the Police, a case of uploading jokes to 4th president Abdul Rahman Wahid who also dealt with the Police, Then the case of Bintang Emon comic that delivered criticism related to the Novel case was attacked in cyberspace. And the most unfortunate case was the intimidation of the students who made the discussion with the theme "The Issue of Dismissal of the President in the Middle of the Pandemic Reviewed From the State Administration System" on May 29, 2020 at Gajah Mada University.

The series of events clearly tarnished the right of citizens to obtain freedom of opinion, even though legally the right to express an opinion has been guaranteed by many laws and regulations. Both by the constitution as in Article 28 E of the 1945 Constitution which basically states that every person is guaranteed freedom of association and assembly, expressing his thoughts through oral and written. In addition, Article 28 F of the 1945 Constitution also states that every person has the right to communicate and obtain information to develop his personal and social environment, and has the right to seek, obtain, own, store, process, and convey information using all types of available channels.

Freedom of opinion is also recognized globally by the United Nations. The recognition uses legal instruments that bind the international world in Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The contents state that every person has the right to freedom of opinion and expression, in this case including freedom to have an opinion by not getting distracted and to seek, receive and convey information and opinions in any way and without looking at boundaries. Thus, violations of the right to issue an opinion not only undermine humanity, undermine the value of democracy in the state, but also damage the international agreement on Human Rights.

Although the right to opinion and expression has been guaranteed in the structure of national and international law, the fact is that consciously or not, until now the act of intimidation and / or repressive still haunts our society to have an opinion, expression, and assembly. So it is very natural to say that freedom of speech in Indonesia is only at an imaginary stage, not properly implemented in reality. Thus, the freedom to criticize the Indonesian government has become a mortal thing, while the criminalization, repressive actions and intimidation seem to be eternal.

The government should carry out reconstruction of thought and action in response to every opinion and criticism made by the community. Instead of making subjective and baseless interpretations, because every opinion and criticism conveyed by the public towards the government is a form of response in responding to a matter, event or to public policy that may be directly related to their lives. The state must be present and prevent the use of law, especially criminal law, to silence those who are critical in expressing opinions. On the other hand, although it is still restricted in the way it is delivered, everyone will no longer be imprisoned just because his views on a matter are considered to be contrary to the wishes of the authorities. Freedom of thought and issue of opinion should continue to be alive and massive, in the journey of the nation and state. So that we can guard the process of nation and state together.

Marwan Fadhel, S. H. I., M. H
(Legal practitioners)