Louder than words
Spot the resemblance?: An Indonesian protester parades a water buffalo during an antigovernment protest in Jakarta. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono complained later that the animal had been used to represent him. AP/Irwin Fedriansyah
Crowds of protesters gathered around SiBuYa, a male buffalo, as it was paraded around Hotel Indonesia traffic circle during a demonstration marking the 100th day of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s government, on Jan. 28.
The black buffalo, guided by a handler and followed by two bare-chested men, also drew a swarm of journalists. And the media reports appearing the next morning received a prompt response from the President challenging the semantics of free speech.
Symbolism in protests has become controversial of late, the pros and cons of which have arisen following the SiBuYa parade.
Those arguing against the action considered the presence of SiBuYa outrageous. The President’s response represented such resistance. Conversely, those that agreed with the action described it as a way of expressing ideas freely, of course in a language different from that of institutional formality.
The code of conduct for demonstrators, regulated in Article 6 of the 1998 Freedom of Speech in Public Law, is seen by some as only accommodating the interests of certain authorities. It stipulates demonstrators are obliged to respect the rights and freedom of other people, observe public moral norms and adhere to the prevailing laws or legislation.
“The rule relies on the perception of law enforcers,” Hendrayana, the director of the Legal Aid Institute for the Press (LBH Pers), told The Jakarta Post, explaining the inadequacy of a law heavily reliant on interpretation.
Take the case of SiBuYa, for example. Hendrayana has been wondering why a demo parading a buffalo has been banned. In fact, he says, there has been no breach of the law whatsoever. He argues the buffalo is just like a pigeon, a symbol of freedom, or rats for corruption, which have frequently been used by protesters in the past.
“But why did the police prohibit demonstrators from using buffalos?” asked Hendrayana.
Many protestors chose to ignore all such rules. Anwar “Sastro” Ma’ruf, a former leader of the Indonesian Labor Congress Confederation (Kasbi), now the general chairman of the Working People’s Union (PRP), said that in the days he used to be an activist, no rules had ever obstructed him.
“What was on our minds was how to communicate our aims and messages to the public,” added Sastro.
The Kasbi under Sastro once built a giant effigy with green fangs. Representing an evil entrepreneur in the May Day protest, the dummy was carried in a march from Hotel Indonesia to the State Palace. Owing to its large size and flamboyant colors, the giant model called Parto attracted plenty of public attention.
“The effigy was proposed at our meeting and we decided to follow through with the idea,” explained Sastro, who is also the coordinator of the Workers Challenge Alliance (ABM).
While affiliated with the coalition of Cicak or Love Indonesia, Love the KPK (Corruption Eradication Commission), Sastro and partners also brought along a cicak (lizard) and crocodile dummies in a protest they staged in front of the KPK building. Both animal models, said Sastro, served as appropriate symbols of the situation at the time.
“We carried the big lizard and crocodile to make a point that would be easily understood by the public,” he added.
The Kasbi was not alone in creating a sensation. Last year, the Independent Journalists Alliance (AJI) of
Jakarta also caused a public stir when it launched a giant ball 3 meters in diameter. The ball, made of a bamboo frame and cement bags, turned the 2009 workers’ protest into something spectacular. Amid the masses thronging along the road, an extra large orange ball bearing workers’ demands emerged.
The chairman of the Workers Union Division of AJI in Jakarta, Riky Ferdianto, said the idea for big ball had come up during an action meeting.
“We originally planned for a ball with a 4-meter diameter, but it was technically very difficult to build,” he
told the Post. Although it was “only” 3 meters, Riky and friends stayed up until wee hours constructing it.
“We bought the frames from bamboo sellers near our office, but we constructed the orb ourselves,” said the journalist of a leading paper in Jakarta.
Their hard work was put to the test after challenging logistics; transporting the ball from the AJI office to Pancoran proved quite a struggle.
“When we arrived, the ball, which we had rolled from Hotel Indonesia to the State Palace got dented along the way,” recalled Riky.
Both Sastro and Riky agreed the use of symbols would make it easier for people to grasp the meaning and message of the action. They believe that everything should be based on situational observation and target determination rather than spontaneity. And the most important thing, they said, was to make a protest eye-catching to the media.
“The press helps considerably by communicating the objective of protests and through visually attractive symbols, the messages is almost certainly conveyed more convincingly,” said Sastro.
The workers’ action launched by AJI-Jakarta through the giant ball, said Riky, received the most media coverage.
Back to the SiBuYa case, symbolism in protests does not seem to have come to a halt due to the offense taken by the President. The action taking place several days later proved this, with the buffalo’s “cousins” appearing in protests. This time, goats wearing the masks of Vice President Boediono and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani also graced the protest in front of Hotel Indonesia.
“Let symbols speak for themselves, that’s a form of freedom of speech. It’s better to focus on the messages carried by the symbols,” concluded Hendrayana.
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