Indonesian Opposition Movement Accuses President of Being ‘Authoritarian’

 

Indonesian President Joko Widodo is facing a social media campaign as he prepares to seek re-election next year.

The campaign has criticized him for failing to show enough sympathy to Islamic interests and the rising prices of household goods.

The movement is calling itself #2019GantiPresiden, which means ‘change the president in 2019’ in the Indonesian language.

Police officials have rejected several requests by the group to organize protests. In the past, its members have clashed with supporters of the president, who is known as Jokowi.

The police decision has led the movement’s organizers to accuse Jokowi of using authoritarian¹ methods like those of former President Suharto.

Mardani Ali Sera of the Prosperous Justice Party launched the social media campaign. He told VOA that he got the idea while appearing on a television program in which all the panelists appeared to praise the president. Mardani said he decided² that was not good for democracy and that he wanted to change the government.

Freedom of speech and keeping the peace

Indonesia is the world’s third largest democracy. However, the country has struggled to balance the ideas of freedom of speech with keeping the peace between ethnic³ and religious groups.

Many comments linked to the #2019GantiPresiden movement seem aimed at inciting⁴ disputes. For example, some accuse Jokowi of secretly being a Christian⁵, not a Muslim. They also accuse him of supporting the Chinese Communist Party.

The president denies these things. Earlier this month, he told the Indonesian publication Tempo⁶: “This country is a democracy. Yes, you are free to gather, to argue. But remember there are limits, there are rules.”

Neno Warisman is an activist⁷ who opposes the president. Neno said she went to the Sumatran city of Pekanbaru in August to attend a #2019GantiPresiden event. But she said she was met by supporters of the president who threw things at her car. Police sent her back to Jakarta on an airplane, she said.

The deputy speaker of the Indonesia’s House of Representatives said the incident showed an “authoritarian mentality” in Jokowi.

Political disagreement

In 2014, the year he was elected president, Joko Widodo appeared on the cover of TIME magazine, in which he was called “the new face of Indonesian democracy.” He was unlike Indonesian leaders who came before him. He was not from a political family or a general. Instead he had served as a mayor in Solo, a city on the island of Java.

But observers say democracy has suffered during his years as president. They point to the jailing of Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnam in May of 2017 on blasphemy⁸ charges.

The government also has been criticized for outlawing⁹ the Islamic group Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia, which seeks to establish an Islamic caliphate in the country.

Until 2017, only one organization, the Indonesian Communist Party was banned by the government. Critics of Jokowi say this shows that he is acting¹⁰ like a dictator.

Tom Pepinsky is an associate professor at Cornell University in the United States. He said that the Indonesian political system still has laws that permit “the regulation of political speech should the president choose to do so.”

Officials say that activists¹¹ in the campaign have been denied requests to demonstrate for several reasons. The activists reportedly spread hate speech, misinformation and are a threat to public order.

But Rahayu Saraswati of Gerindra compares the #2019GantiPresiden group to Americans who oppose U.S. President Donald Trump¹². He said in Indonesia, the campaign “is a rally call to all those who feel the same.”

I’m Mario Ritter.

Words in This Story

household – adj. related to all the people in a family or group

authoritarian – adj. expecting or requiring people to obey rules or laws; not permitting personal freedom

panelist – n. a person who is part of a group that answers questions, gives advice or opinions

blasphemy – n. something said or done that is disrespectful to God or to something holy

caliphate – n. the state under the leadership of an Islamic leader

rally – n. a public meeting to support or oppose someone or something

1 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

4 inciting   

刺激的，煽动的

参考例句：

• What are you up to inciting mutiny and insubordination? 你们干吗在这里煽动骚动的叛乱呀。
• He was charged with inciting people to rebel. 他被控煽动民众起来叛乱。

5 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

6 tempo   

n.(音乐的)速度；节奏，行进速度

参考例句：

• The boss is unsatisfied with the tardy tempo.老板不满于这种缓慢的进度。
• They waltz to the tempo of the music.他们跟着音乐的节奏跳华尔兹舞。

7 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

8 blasphemy   

n.亵渎，渎神

参考例句：

• His writings were branded as obscene and a blasphemy against God.他的著作被定为淫秽作品，是对上帝的亵渎。
• You have just heard his blasphemy!你刚刚听到他那番亵渎上帝的话了！

9 outlawing   

宣布…为不合法（outlaw的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Regulations are outlawing certain refrigerants, such as chlorofluorocarbons, which contain ozone-depleting chemicals. 随后出台的政策禁用了部分制冷剂，如破坏臭氧层的氟氯碳化合物。
• An amendment outlawing sale of intoxicating liquors(1920)was repealed in 1933. 规定售卖酒类为非法的一个宪法修正案（一九二○年）在一九三三年被废止。

10 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

11 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。