REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Several NGOs grouped under the Indonesian Civil Society have urged the government to adopt a transparent approach in blocking any websites considered to promote radical ideology.
The government should also seek opinions regarding the content from independent bodies such as the court, spokesman of the Indonesian Civil Society Rafendi Djamin, who is concurrently the executive director of the Human Rights Working Group (HRWG), noted here, Monday.
"Such blocking process should be carried out transparently, and opinions on the content must be obtained from a court or other non-political and non-profit independent bodies," Djamin suggested.
The government must also be able to tender a logical explanation on the reason behind the blocking, he noted.
The Indonesian Civil Society, comprising the HRWG, the Wahid Institute, AMAN Indonesia, ELSAM, AJA-Asia, and Titiaan Perdamaian Institute, criticized the government for recently blocking allegedly radical websites without following proper procedures and processes.
The blocking of the online media websites is against the freedom of expression and Internet, as regulated in the existing Indonesian laws, he pointed out.
"Blocking without following clear procedures has the potential to threaten the freedom of expression, which has so far been upheld by Indonesia as a democratic country," he stated.
The NGOs supported the government's efforts to ban hate speech on the pretext of religion in the media. However, the measure must also respect the freedom of expression, he noted.
"The state must establish a standard for blocking online media websites. Without set procedures and transparency, the government's measure would, in fact, tend to be authoritarian that could threaten democracy and human rights," he stated.
On March 29, 2015, the ministry blocked at least 19 websites, at the request of the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) in its letter number 149/K.BNPT/3/2015, stating that the online media sites promoted radical ideologies and were sympathizers of radicalism.
The blocked websites are arrahmah.com, voa-islam.com, ghur4ba.blogspot.com, panjimas.com, thoriquna.com, dakwatuna.com, kafilahmujahid.com, an-najah.net, muslimdaily.net, hidayatullah.com, salam-online.com, aqlislamiccenter.com, kiblat.net, dakwahmedia.com, muqawamah.com, lasdipo.com, gemaislam.com, eramuslim.com, and daulahislam.com.
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