Restriction on freedom of speech

Restriction on freedom of speech

         Freedom of speech is often considered to be one of the most basic tenets of democracy. As a fundamental right it is enshrined in documents such as the Bill of Rights in the United States, the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, and the European Convention on Human Rights.

      The first amendment to the US constitution says that "Congress shall make no law abridging (limiting) the freedom of speech, or of the press" Freedom of speech is the liberty(kebebasan) to speak openly without fear of government restraint. It is closely linked to freedom of the press because this freedom includes both the right to speak and the right to be heard. In the United States, both the freedom of speech and freedom of press are commonly called freedom of expression.

      But on the other hand, the newly elected US president Donald Trump had criticized the world’s well-known news channels BBC and CNN. "I am extremely pleased to see that @CNN and @BBC has finally been exposed as #FakeNews and garbage journalism. It's about time!" he tweeted.

   Yet, let’s consider about Indonesia, over the past years Indonesia has made great strides(melangkahi) in becoming a stable, democratic country with a strong civil society and independent media. Where we have freedom almost from everything, including freedom of speech. According to “pasal 28 UUD 1945” says “it’s the right of the people to express their feeling orally(dengan lisan) or through writing”. But there are several cases against this constitution. For example, the government continued to criminalize peaceful political expression in Maluku and Papua. At least 90 political activists were imprisoned for their peaceful political activities. Which is getting lots of criticism from Right Groups.

     However, some politician analyser(penganalisa) said, Freedom of speech should never be restricted because it is a necessary part of a democracy. But some others said, it is indeed true that freedom of speech is crucial in any democracy, placing limits are just as important. It means each person has their own opinion. What’s your thought?

Sourece: BBC, CNN, Al-jazeera, BBC Indonesia, WIKIPEDIA

1.      How crucial is freedom of expression in this age?

2.      In what ways do u express your complaints to the public service?

3.      How well do you find the democracy run in Indonesia?

4.      What is "hate speech"? Is it illegal?

5.      To what extent should we adopt the freedom of expression as USA implement?

BENTENG PANYNYUA ENGLISH CLUB
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