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Muslims in Indonesia no longer have to create banners and take to the streets to protest against perceived insults to Islam, thanks to a new blasphemy-busting Google app.
But Smart Pakem – launched last month by the Indonesian government to enable busybodies to report “misguided” beliefs – has proved a source of concern to free speech and human rights activists, including Britain’s National Secular Society.
The NSS reported yesterday that it has written to Rajan Anandan, VP of Google in south-east Asia, to ask the company to reconsider its decision to stock the app.
Evans said the app would help Indonesia’s government to crack down on freedom of expression and persecute religious minorities.
He said stocking the app made it “very likely” that more people in Indonesia would be prosecuted and convicted under the country’s blasphemy law.
Indonesia officially recognises six religions: Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism. Its blasphemy law makes it illegal to promote any other religion or belief system. Supporting atheism is effectively banned.
The punishment for infringing these laws is up to five years in prison.
According to Human Rights Watch, 125 people were convicted of blasphemy in Indonesia between 2004 and 2014. Twenty-three have been convicted since 2014.
Following a 2017 prosecution that made international headlines, Jakarta’s Christian governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, above, was sentenced to two years in jail for blasphemy, a harsher-than-expected ruling critics feared would embolden hardline Islamist forces to challenge secularism in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation.
Evans added that stocking the app was “incongruous with Google’s mission statement” and:
Runs directly contrary to the democratic ideals which Google says it stands for.
Google says it exists:
To organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.
Evans also said stocking the app would:
Normalise restrictions on freedom of expression in Indonesia and elsewhere.
The NSS campaigns for the repeal of blasphemy laws and is committed to challenging infringements on freedom of and from religion around the world.
Explaining his decision to write the letter, Evans said:
Indonesia’s blasphemy law is a morally unjustifiable tool of repression which should be repealed as soon as possible. While this law exists anyone who believes in free expression should make it as difficult as possible for the Indonesian government to enforce the law.Google has greatly benefited from the freedom to share information globally. We ask it and other multinational companies to consider whether they can in good conscience profit from the repression caused by governments’ crackdowns on free speech.
Through an application called Smart Pakem (Supervision of Community Trust), Jakarta residents can report on organizations that are troubling the community. Starting today, the application can be downloaded via the Google Play Store.
Assistant for the Jakarta High Prosecutor's Intelligence Sector, Yulianto, said when the application was launched on Thursday (11/22), "This application was also made to educate the public and transparency. In the application there is a complaint section."
The application includes a number of features such as a list of beliefs that are prohibited by the government as well as banned mass organizations. There are also fatwas issued by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), and forms to complain or provide information about beliefs or sects. Yulianto added, "Through this application, we can immediately know the location of the reporter."
Also read:
Grace Natalie: We're Anti-Discrimination, Not Anti-Religion
Commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission, Choirul Anam, said that the app has the potential for violations of religious freedom. "It can fuel persecution, violence and criminalization." As stated by Choirul Anam, as quoted by The Jakarta Post newspaper.
He said he had asked the government and the Attorney General's Office to remove the application, because it was against the government's desire to create a culture of mutual respect and tolerance.
Researchers from the Setara Institute, Halili Hasan expressed similar opinions. He revealed, the application would increasingly marginalize followers of religious minorities
He added to the Jakarta Post, whether a false belief or not, cannot be determined according to public opinion. According to Halili Hasan, the application only caused more fragmentation of society and legitimized people who felt people who were of a different view than "mainstream" were worthy of being persecuted. "
Also read:
Meiliana and the Blasphemy Article which Continues to Hit Minorities
While a spokesman for the Indonesian Ahmadiyya Community (JAI), Yendra Budiana, said the launch of the application would make people suspicious of each other and add to the potential for conflict and undermine the dialogue between faiths that had begun to be formed in society.
On the contrary, the Chief of the Information Center of the Attorney General's Office, Mukri, said that the application was made so that the public could easily check whether a group was banned or not by the government.
Mukri added, if a group is reported through the application, that does not mean the group will be immediately destroyed. But the application helped the AGO to carry out further investigations.
Source: The Jakarta Post, Kompas.com (ml / hp)
https://www.tempo.co/dw/358/peluncuran-aplikasi-smart-pakem-dikhawatirkan-semakin-desak-warga-minoritas
https://www.tempo.co/dw/358/peluncuran-aplikasi-smart-pakem-dikhawatirkan-semakin-desak-warga-minoritas
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