'Action on 'D&R' editor unreasonable'<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Communication expert M. Budyatna criticized the
\nIndonesian Journalists' Association yesterday for revoking its
\nrecommendation for the editor of D&R magazine, thus threatening
\nthe publication with closure.<\/p>\n
Budyatna, who is dean of the University of Indonesia's School
\nof Social and Political Sciences, said the reasons cited for the
\nwithdrawal were \"unreasonable\" and might merely be an effort to
\nconceal that the government had been threatened by the magazine's
\nbold reports.<\/p>\n
\"I suspect that the magazine has revealed 'undesirable'
\ninformation from the government's point of view,\" he told The
\nJakarta Post yesterday.<\/p>\n
Goesti Emran, the magazine's chief editor, had his license to
\nedit withdrawn by the association Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Tarman Azzam, head of the association's Jakarta branch, said
\nthe association decided to cancel its recommendation for Goesti
\nEmran because the latter employed members of the unrecognized
\nAlliance of Independent Journalists. Five members of the alliance
\nalso happened to be ex-employees of Tempo, a prestigious weekly
\nbanned in 1994 by the government.<\/p>\n
Azzam said the association had, prior to the cancellation,
\ngiven several verbal warnings and two strong written warnings,
\nbut Emran had failed to respond.<\/p>\n
Azzam is also editor of the afternoon daily Harian Terbit,
\npart of the Pos Kota group of newspapers owned by Minister of
\nInformation Harmoko, who has responsibility for approving
\npublishing licenses.<\/p>\n
Under the press laws, a newspaper or publication cannot be
\nprinted unless its editor is approved by the association.<\/p>\n
Emran could not be reached for comments yesterday.<\/p>\n
The weekly D&R has published a number of hard-hitting
\npolitical stories and interviews in its 10 issues since it first
\nappeared three months ago.<\/p>\n
Budyatna admitted that he had read only one edition of the
\nmagazine, which happened to be the issue featuring a report on
\nthe aftermath of the July 27 riots. \"The magazine's coverage
\ncontains 'daring' information that has not been published
\nelsewhere,\" Budyatna said.<\/p>\n
Three publications -- Tempo, DeTik and Editor -- were banned
\nin June 1994. An attempt to relaunch DeTik as Simponi in October
\n1994 failed after only one issue was published when the
\nassociation withdrew its recommendation of the tabloid's editor-
\nin-chief.<\/p>\n
Harmoko said he had yet to be informed about the revocation of
\nthe association's recommendation. \"If the magazine does not
\ncomply with the laws, then it could face sanctions,\" he said,
\nwithout elaborating. (14\/imn)<\/p>",
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