On December 6, local time, the Indonesian Parliament passed an amendment to the Criminal Law . The "New Criminal Code" (KUHP) will strictly prohibit extramarital sex, and insulting the president or expressing opinions that are contrary to the state's ideology will be sentenced. The passage of the criminal law amendment has aroused criticism from the public and has sparked some small protests in the capital Jakarta .
According to Indonesian The Jakarta Post reported on December 7 that the "new criminal code" means that Indonesia has entered a new era where "non-liberalism" and "religious conservatism" are prevalent. Because the code also applies to foreigners, Indonesian tourism operators are worried that the law will hit the country's tourism industry hard. According to AFP html on the 27th, Australia, which has close contacts with Indonesia, has requested Indonesia more details about the above bill on the same day.
On November 12, 2022, local time, in Bali, Indonesia, foreign tourists are buying souvenirs. Visual ChinaFigure
"new" is conservative?
According to Reuters 2 on December 6, the Indonesian parliament passed a criminal amendment to criminalize extramarital sex, which can be sentenced to up to one year in prison. Unmarried cohabitation is also included in a criminal offense and can be sentenced to up to six months in prison. However, in accordance with the principle of "no action", the lawsuit can only be filed by the spouse, parents or children of the parties.
In addition, the Criminal Law Amendment also strictly prohibits insulting the president or state institutions, prohibits unreported protests and prohibits the dissemination of any viewpoint that is contrary to the state's ideology. People believe that these laws endanger the rights to freedom of speech and freedom of association.
The amendment to the Criminal Law will officially come into effect three years later and apply to Indonesian citizens, foreign residents and foreign tourists. Reuters reported that the criminal law amendment will seriously affect Indonesia's tourism and business, and the Indonesian Employers Association (APINDO) said these laws "do more harm than good" and hinder investment.
The provisions on political freedom and sexual freedom in the "New Criminal Code" seem quite conservative. According to the Jakarta Post, Usman Hamid, executive director of the Indonesian branch of human rights organization Amnesty International, said the new provisions are a "regression in protecting Indonesia's civil liberties", especially the part about "freedom of speech and free press."
critics believe that although the government has solicited public opinions nationwide to amend the draft in recent years, the changes have actually been minimal, and the new criminal code is a "big regression" in Indonesia's democratic process. Indonesia's Minister of Law and Human Rights Yasonna Laoly stressed on December 6 that the government has tried its best to take care of important issues and dissent in the bill debate. "However, it is time for us to make a historic decision on the new criminal code, to put the colonial penal code we inherited behind."
The name of "decolonization"
Reuters pointed out that Indonesia has been hoping to revise its criminal code since its declaration of independence in 1945. Before the bill was officially passed, Indonesian Deputy Minister of Justice Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej said in an interview with Reuters: "We are proud to have a criminal code that conforms to Indonesian values." In response to public opinion, Yasona also emphasized that the original criminal code came from the "colonial era".
The Jakarta Post pointed out that the process of revision of the criminal code has always revolved around the atmosphere of "decolonization". Since 1963, Indonesian legal experts have begun to discuss the issue of revising the Criminal Code. The current President Jokovic has been in power since 2014, and the review of the amendment of the Criminal Code was once again formally mentioned in the government's policy agenda in 2015.
The previous version of the criminal code was originally scheduled to be adopted in 2019, but it triggered protests and protests by tens of thousands of Indonesians at that time, and was considered one of the largest waves of protests since the country's democratization "Reformasi" in 1998. At that time, Jokovic had to intervene and postponed the agenda for the amendment of the law.
In 2021, the Indonesian government and legislative bodies resumed the review of the revision of the Criminal Code and released a complete draft in July this year. The draft bill was revised twice after public consultation and congressional discussions.
In recent review and discussion on the amendment, the Indonesian government has repeatedly emphasized that the amendment efforts are the "historical mission" to "decolonize" the "default laws left by the colonial period of the Netherlands".
The Jakarta Post reported that analysts do not agree with the Indonesian government's view because the "new criminal code" generally retains clauses that restrict freedom of speech, so it does not provide better guarantees for democracy.
Indonesian legal expert Nella Sumika Putri said: "I question the purpose of decolonizing our Criminal Code (what the government says) because it is only nuanced from the previous version of the Criminal Code ( Criminal Code ) left over from the colonial era.
It is worth mentioning that the "new Criminal Code" reintroduces the colonial era's injunctions against insulting government and government leaders. These provisions were originally abolished by the Constitutional Court in 2006 and 2007 on the grounds that they undermine the right to freedom of speech.
The game between various factions?
"Jakarta" In an editorial published on the 7th, the Post mentioned that Indonesia has actually maintained its national status as "neither religious nor secular". This is a philosophical and ideological compromise, and it also reflects that the domestic conservative and liberal forces have been in a long-term ideological tension.
The editorial pointed out that Indonesia's criminal law system is generally secular and will fall into a wave of ideological issues, but overall, "the pendulum is balanced." The recently passed "new criminal code" means that this "pendulum" has tilted to the right, which may be for Indonesia's culture and The ideology is "diversified" society has had a serious impact, and it also hinders Indonesia's participation in global politics and economy.
Editorial believes that on the one hand, Indonesia strives to get rid of the legal system of colonialism after independence, but on the other hand, it seems to have made a wrong decision because the "new criminal code" may undermine the progress already made. In addition, the "new criminal code" also inherits the anti-left policy of the Suharto government during the Cold War, and those who spread Marxism and communism may be sentenced to four years in prison.
Despite this, " The new criminal code seems to be deterring the more extreme sects, and also arousing dissatisfaction from the latter. According to Reuters on December 7, on the same day, a suspected Islamic activist detonated the bomb in a police station in Bandung, West Java Province, causing the death of two people, including the suspect himself, and injured 8 others. The cause of the attack may be dissatisfaction with the criminal law amendment passed by the Indonesian parliament the day before.
Local time on December 7, 2022, in Bandung, West Java, India, the police protected the explosion scene outside the police station. Visual China Photo
Ibnu Suhendra of Indonesia's National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT) told Metro TV that the Indonesian terrorist organization "The Lord's Guerrillas" (JAD), which supports the extremist organization "Islamic State", may be behind the attack. Previously, the "The Lord's Guerrillas" also carried out similar attacks in Indonesia. Analysts pointed out that some religious extremists refused to accept Indonesia's national laws and believed that Islam is the only legal authority (legitimate). authority).
According to CNN (CNN) on December 6, the "New Penal Code" prohibits Indonesian people from expressing any view that is contrary to Indonesia's national ideology (i.e. "Pan Chashila"). "Pan Chashila" is the five basic principles of Indonesia's founding, including "belief in Shinto, humanitarian , nationalism, democracy, and social justice." It is generally believed in the academic community that "Pan Chashila" respects the belief of the most important religious group in Indonesia, Muslims, and on the other hand, it also guarantees the religious freedom of Christians, Buddhists, Hindus and other minorities such as Christians, Buddhists, and Hindus through a broad "belief in Shinto".
But the "Pan Chahira" principle is also suspected of being too vague: almost all mainstream political parties in Indonesia have included "Pan Chahira" in their party ideology; in history, the left-leaning Indonesian founding president Sukarno and the successor president Suharto , who holds a right-wing stance, also have very different interpretations of "Pan Chahira".
The tourism industry may suffer a heavy blow?
Some Indonesian citizen groups and people are still strongly dissatisfied with the "new criminal code" and try to launch protests and hinder the implementation of the bill. The Jakarta Post editorial pointed out that the Indonesian government has more than two years to discuss the details of the "New Criminal Code", and the media called on civil groups to question the "New Criminal Code" in the Constitutional Court. However, the Jakarta Post lacks confidence in whether the Constitutional Court can maintain independence or “progressively” correct its deviations.
In fact, the tourism industry is most likely to be affected by Indonesia's "new criminal code". At present, Indonesia's tourism industry is working hard to recover from the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic. According to the Indonesian National Bureau of Statistics, a total of 470,000 foreign tourists went to Indonesia in July 2022. But the new criminal code will undoubtedly bring another heavy blow to Indonesia's tourism industry. "We deeply regret that the Indonesian government has closed its eyes (turning a blind eye) and we have expressed concerns to the Ministry of Tourism," said Maulana Yusran, deputy director of the Indonesian Tourism Commission.
According to the BBC (BBC) report on December 7, Indonesian tourism practitioners have also expressed their concerns. A tour guide working in Bali said in an interview with the BBC that the new criminal code will have a "very serious" impact on the entire Indonesian region, but especially in the resort of Bali. He said: "I am very, very worried because I really rely on tourism." " Gulf War , Bali bombing , Semeru volcano eruption, Linjani volcano eruption, the new crown pneumonia epidemic... Bali's tourism industry is really very easy to affect."
On March 12, 2022, local time, in Bali, Sinia, India, tourists gathered on the beach. Visual China Picture
This criminal code has aroused widespread public opinion in Australia. Indonesia's economy relies on tourism, and Australian tourists are the main source. Before the COVID-19 epidemic, Bali became one of the best places for Australian tourists to take weekend vacations, graduation trips and weddings due to their beautiful scenery, convenience and speed, and low cost. According to statistics from the non-governmental organization "Indonesia Institute", in 2019, a total of 1.23 million Australian tourists traveling to Bali.
As soon as the amendment to the new criminal law was announced, it sparked discussions on social platforms, analyzing the impact of these laws on tourists. Some commented that they would carry their marriage certificate with them while traveling; others said that if this means that unmarried couples cannot share hotel rooms, they will not travel to Indonesia. However, many people also said that this criminal law amendment is just a "intimidation tactic" and cannot be enforced.
commented that since the bill will only work if the party’s parents, children or spouse report the case to the police, it will not have a significant impact on foreign tourists. However, Human Rights Watch researcher Andreas Harsono said in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that there are still some situations that will affect foreign tourists, such as when foreign tourists interact with local Indonesians, they may face reports from their partner’s parents.
Canadian travel blogger Melissa Giroux, who had lived in Bali for 18 months, said that the passage of the criminal law amendment "was shocked her" and that "once the bill officially takes effect, many tourists would rather travel elsewhere than risk going to jail (to Indonesia)."
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