by Jennie S. Bev
In October last year, Indonesian Internet users enjoyed momentary happiness when Communications and Information Minister Muhammad Nuh personally promised "free speech among bloggers,” and then when both the government and private sectors agreed to provide Internet connections for at least 20 percent of the population by 2012.
Investor Group Against Digital Divide (IGADD), which was the non-profit think-tank behind this grand plan, said users of broadband technology would increase by 20 times, which would greatly bridge the "digital divide" between rich and poor.
Finally, Indonesia, as the last truly unwired Asian country, has decided to go digital with the protection of free speech. And for a country that was acknowledged for its peaceful transition into democracy, with the prestigious Democracy Award from the International Association of Political Consultants (IAPC), in 2007, it seemed as if things had finally fallen into the right places. Yet the truth bit hard. Indonesians have not won the battle to win democracy, or even narrowed the digital divide. It may as well be on a dwindling downward spiral into the darkness, if things remain as they are.
