On March 30th, the Centre for Human Rights, Multiculturalism and Migration (CHRM2) University of Jember held a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) about the Shrinking Civic Space In a Political Context In Indonesia in Meotel Jember. This project is funded by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) Indonesia. There were 17 participants representing civil society organisations from several regions across Indonesia such as youth movement of Aceh, Legal Aid Institute of Surabaya, Fatayat Nahdlatul Ulama Jember, Aisyah Muhammadiyah Jember, Nahdlatul Ulama Legal Aid Institute of Banyuwangi and Legal Aid Institute of Makassar. They are all invited based on their focus on anti-corruption and freedom of expression.
During the discussion, all participants give their perspectives, experiences, and solution related to the topic. One of the main issues raised during the discussion is that most participants believe that they need to be empowered by external institution, specially to support their advocacy on a certain issue. Another significant finding is that in some places, there are several “fake” CSOs established either by corporation or governments to distract advocacy. To tackle this issue, independent media will play significant role to provide an objective insight.
