美国国家公共电台 NPR--Indonesia has updated its criminal code with a raft of free speech restrictions

Indonesia has updated its criminal code with a raft of free speech restrictions¹

Transcript²

Indonesia's overhaul³ of its criminal code has alarmed human rights advocates, who say the updated version enshrines numerous anti-democratic practices.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Indonesia has updated its criminal code with a number of free speech restrictions. The human rights community says the new legislation is threatening the country's democracy. NPR's Julie McCarthy has the story.

JULIE MCCARTHY, BYLINE⁵: In this era of global democratic retreat, Indonesia watchers say President Joko Widodo, who was reelected in 2019 on promises of inclusion, is not interested in hearing challenges to his government and is presiding over a Democratic backsliding. Amnesty International Indonesia director Usman Hamid says the new measure that criminalizes speech that attacks the honor or dignity of the president effectively gags the citizenry.

USMAN HAMID: It's how to make sure the law can give those in power authority to suppress opinions that they don't like.

MCCARTHY: Hamid says it's not just the president who can file a criminal complaint, it's a crime to dishonor the vice⁷ president, the parliament, the supreme⁸ court and the constitutional court, punishable up to three years. Thailand imposes up to 15 years for insulting the dignity of the king under the crime of lese-majeste, literally⁹ injuring the crown or head of state. But Thailand is a constitutional monarchy¹⁰, while Indonesia is a democracy. And Hamid says the very application of such laws in Indonesia turns the idea of who is the sovereign on its head.

HAMID: And a president under democratic system is accountable to the people and which the people hold the sovereignty. And the people have the right to question anyone they elected as a president.

MCCARTHY: Anger over the perceived anti-democratic turn exploded in 2019 in the biggest demonstrations¹¹ in decades.

(CROSSTALK)

MCCARTHY: Students doubting Widodo's commitment to civil liberties took to the streets to protest harsh penalties for proposed new crimes, including insulting the president and having sex outside of marriage. Open, open, open the door of parliament, they demanded. And President Widodo pulled the bill. Fast-forward three years and parliament this month approved a massive overhaul of the criminal code.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED POLITICIAN: (Non-English language spoken).

MCCARTHY: With the deputy speaker gaveling the bill to passage. It's not clear whether mass protests at the door of parliament would even be legal under this new legislation, which makes disrupting lawful¹² meetings a crime. Sana Jaffrey, with the Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict, says the risks for direct action are getting higher. She says minorities such as the LGBTQ community, already vulnerable under rising religious conservatism, are especially in danger. And Jaffrey says the code will be used selectively to deal with difficult critics and political opponents.

SANA JAFFREY: But the broader effect of the law is that it creates fear. And it compels people, critics to mind their own words.

MCCARTHY: Rights experts say the most serious new provision is the ban against promoting views that conflict with the official state ideology¹³, which prizes unity⁴ and harmony - the penalty, up to 15 years in prison. Supporters of the new code hail it as ridding Indonesians of the system of laws used by their former Dutch colonizers. But critics say the revisions contained in the new code amount to authoritarianism¹⁵ disguised in the form of anti-colonialism. Again, Sana Jaffrey.

JAFFREY: That's one of the ironies¹⁶ of this, that it has been sold to the public as something that has purged¹⁷ Indonesia of its colonial past, which is a really powerful thing to sell because Indonesia is a country that, you know, much like the United States, fought a war of independence against its colonizer¹⁴.

MCCARTHY: The new code takes effect in three years, during which time judges, police and other enforcers will be trained in its hundreds of articles, the text of which human rights defenders¹⁸ say is too often vague. What speech, for example, constitutes dishonoring the president? The constitutional court threw out an anti-insult measure in 2006. But legal experts say it's not likely to do it again. They say the court is losing its independence in the new, more repressive climate. Human Rights Watch Indonesia researcher Andreas Harsono says the consequences could be dire⁶.

ANDREAS HARSONO: If this law is not amended¹⁹ in the next three years, democracy is dead. This is a leap backward and off the cliff.

MCCARTHY: Sana Jaffrey says that's possible but not likely, as Indonesians have a way of pushing back. What we're witnessing in Indonesia, Jaffrey says, is not a sudden death of democracy, but Indonesia getting stuck in a low-quality democracy.

Julie McCarthy, NPR News.

1 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

4 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

7 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

8 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

9 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

10 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。

11 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

12 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

13 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

14 colonizer   

殖民者，殖民地开拓者，移民

参考例句：

• In the first few year, the colonizer find life difficult. 头几年里，殖民地开拓者觉得生活艰难。

15 authoritarianism   

权力主义，独裁主义

参考例句：

• Modern authoritarianism is a vestige of traditional personal rule. 现代独裁主义则是传统的个人统治的残余。
• In its latter days it was a byword for authoritarianism, incompetence, and corruption. 在后期，它是独裁、无能和腐化的代号。

16 ironies   

n.反语( irony的名词复数 )；冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事；嘲弄

参考例句：

• It was one of life's little ironies. 那是生活中的一个小小的嘲弄。
• History has many ironies. 历史有许多具有讽刺意味的事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 purged   

清除（政敌等）( purge的过去式和过去分词 )； 涤除（罪恶等）； 净化（心灵、风气等）； 消除（错事等）的不良影响

参考例句：

• He purged his enemies from the Party. 他把他的敌人从党内清洗出去。
• The iron in the chemical compound must be purged. 化学混合物中的铁必须清除。

18 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 Amended   

adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。
• He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。