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Protest in Indonesia: students revolt against the "Bali Sex Ban"

2019-10-01T13:47:15.759Z


These are the most violent demonstrations in more than 20 years: In Indonesia, students are protesting against the tightening of criminal law in accordance with Sharia rules. Deaths put the President in distress.



The pictures are similar: Young people make their demands public, flags and banners fly in the tear gas mist of the police. Not only in Hong Kong, students are currently taking precedence over government plans, and tens of thousands of people have voted in Indonesia. They demonstrated mainly in the capital city of Jakarta last week and on weekends, but also in other major cities in the Southeast Asian country, where more than 260 million people live, most of them Muslims.

Indonesia has long been a tolerant form of Islam, but in recent years fundamentalist forces have gained significant influence. Sharia law has been in criminal law in Aceh province for several years. Among other things, unmarried couples are publicly punished for sticking body bans.

Indonesia should now ratify a package of laws that could soon enshrine the often draconian punishments of the Sharia across the state. For many years, the Indonesian government has been working to revise the criminal law that had been established under the colonial rule of the Netherlands. The new rules stipulate that couples who live together unmarried can be sentenced to up to six months in prison. In addition to extramarital sex and abortions without medical approval may also be punished education about contraceptive methods as well as the insult of the President.

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5 pictures

Indonesia: escalating protests against new laws

This could also hit the tourism sector of the country, which is already suffering from a decline in exports. The new criminal law would have to be applied not only to Indonesians, but also to foreigners residing in the country. For example, on the island of Bali, a Hindu enclave that is especially popular with surfers. In front of a "Bali Sex Ban," a newspaper in Australia warned in a headline. The government in Canberra has already issued a travel advice.

GAGAH BERANI

Anak STM salahnya apa ya .. ???
(Mungkin Kalah Pamor Sama Anak Es Em Ka )

Kejadian hari ini di stasiun Depok Baru # KekuasaanDitanganRakyatpic.twitter.com / 4iTNDj772g

- JAUNTY GIRL (@ Anggraini_4yu) September 30, 2019

From the videos of the protests in Hong Kong, demonstrators in Indonesia have seen how tear gas cartridges can be quickly rendered harmless and how they can network via social media. While the organization in Hong Kong mainly uses the apps WeChat and Threema, in Indonesia it is Twitter and Instagram. There are videos of alleged attacks by the police to see: Young people who are harassed and approached in a subway car by police - similar pictures are also from Hong Kong. In both countries, the parliamentary opposition calls for investigating excessive police violence. Many messages in Indonesian networks have the addition #semuabisakena, translated as: "This concerns everyone".

Two protesters died

As in Hong Kong, there are hardly any leaders in Indonesia for the protests. Social media accounts call for protests and voices security warnings. Often, their owners remain anonymous: The account Akar Rumput - in German "grass roots" - shares meeting places, the whereabouts of aid teams and videos of the protests. Also student associations call for a demonstration. The Jakarta University of Indonesia group posted a post on Instagram showing student leader Manik Margananahendra at a rally.

A big difference compared to what happened in Hong Kong, which has not claimed any casualties: In Indonesia, two young men died in the protests. Both had demonstrated in Kendari on the island of Sulawesi. One of them died of an injury in the chest, after unofficial presentation hit him a bullet. The local police, however, denies being responsible for his death: The officials are not equipped with live ammunition, not even with rubber bullets, it said. The second protester was wounded during the protests on his head and succumbed to his injury at the hospital. Even in his case, the course of events is still unclear.

Dear friends in Indonesia,

I'm a Hong Kong citizen. Hong Kongers have protests against unwanted bill in HK in recent 3 months. The situation is very similar to yours ... # HidupMahasiwa #ReformasiDikorupsi pic.twitter.com/cfsBH8SX9D

- Moira 101 CCP's 70th Anniversary Celebration (@Moira_Ooops) September 27, 2019

The deaths bring Indonesia's President Joko Widodo, who is almost exclusively addressed by his nickname Jokowi, in Zugzwang. He had been re-elected only a few months ago, and on 20 October his swearing-in for second term is due. This could hardly begin with more turbulence given the escalating violence in the country.

Jokowi tried in recent days for arbitration and announced investigations. "I told the police chief that his officials should not act repressively," he said. He also wants to vote on the law packages but only after his swearing.

It's also about corruption

But the students are no longer attracted by the Sharia law. Seven demands have been made by the Indonesian protesters. They also protest against the new law, which according to critics limits the Anti-Corruption Commission, as it will make it more difficult in the future to hear witnesses. Many protesters wear banners bearing "reformasi di korrupsi" - such as "Reforming Corruption". Corruption is an urgent issue in Indonesia, with the country ranking 89th out of 175 in Transparency International's global ranking. Students also demand a halt to the forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan and the withdrawal of the West Papuan military.

The moderated president has already lost credibility: "If he were truly democratic, people on the street would not die and be arrested for their rights," said activist Emily Lawsen of the South China Morning Post. according to. An invitation to dialogue with the president was rejected by the demonstrators. Jokowi also won the past election because he had nominated the respected cleric Ma'ruf Amin as a vice-chancellor candidate - advocating sharia and homosexuality and mobilizing the more radical constituents in the country.

Protests like these have last occurred in Indonesia in 1998. Even then, especially students went to the streets to demonstrate against the dictator Haji Mohamed Suharto. On May 21 of the same year Suharto announced his withdrawal. A little later he was tried for corruption.

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2019-10-01

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