Music Concert Commemorating Munir Banned

VIVAnews - A concert entitled 'Tribute to Munir' aiming at commemorating the late Human Rights activist Munir which should be held today, 20 February, is canceled because University Indonesia's management is afraid that the event is political.

"We're very upset," Coordinator of Solidarity for Munir Committee, Andi Panca Kurniawan, told VIVAnews on Thursday, Feb 19.

According to Kurniawan, the cancellation has troubled the event organizers including Solidarity for Munir Committee, student association of Cultural Studies Faculty at University of Indonesia, and KBR 68H Radio.

The event organizer has covered the costs for hiring such performers like indie groups Efek Rumah Kaca and Positif Energi. However, the most serious issue is concerned with the cancellation announcement that should be publicized four days before the concert takes place.

The university's management cited various reasons such as technical and political issues. The Rectorate requested that the concert be postponed to December 10, 2009.

Kurniawan went on to say that the concert has nothing to do with politics. "This is not the institution's attitude. This is the attitude of [university] officials not knowing the university's stance in Human Rights movement," he told VIVAnews on Thursday, Feb 19.

University of Indonesia (UI) once held 'Munir Memorial Lecture II' in September 2008. "This is a setback for UI," he said.

According to Kurniawan, the concert organizers have yet received any official cancellation notification from the Rectorate. In addition, he said, "Many lecturers did not agree with the Rectorate's decision," he said.

On the other hand, UI denied that the ban was due to political messages which would allegedly be conveyed in the concert, which may affect UI negatively.

Spokesperson of UI, Devi Rahmawati, told VIVAnews on Thursday, Feb 19, that UI's reason for prohibiting the concert has nothing to do with political issues. UI had only requested that the concert be postponed until December. 

She added that there will be numerous national programs that will take place in UI through April. Therefore, the ban is purely concerned with technical and security issues.

"We've learnt from experience. If it is an indoor event, it must be easier to secure the place," said Rahmawati.

Meanwhile, wife to the late Human Rights activist Munir, Suciwati, claimed that the ban is a setback for the university, which is an Indonesian representative before the world. She said that the grounds for the ban was unclear and nonsense. 

Previously, other concerts commemorating Munir had been organized in three universities: Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta; Mercu Buana University, Jakarta; and Brawijaya University, Malang, East Java. The concerts went well.

--

Translated by: Bonardo Maulana Wahono