Amendment of press law to rest on new cabinet<\/p>\n
By Warief Djajanto Basorie<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Information R. Hartono has hinted at
\na possible review of the press regulation under which a number of
\nmedia have been closed down, but their fate will not be clear
\nuntil after March.<\/p>\n
Ignatius Haryanto argued in his article in the Dec. 30 edition
\nof this newspaper that Indonesia's press law of 1982 must be
\nreviewed because it does not provide security to the print media.
\nThe call for a review is not so much on the law itself but on the
\nregulation for the implementation of the law -- the 1984
\ninformation minister's regulation on the business permits of
\npress publications (SIUPP).<\/p>\n
Editors are not against the law per se but the 1984
\nregulation.<\/p>\n
Haryanto pointed out that the regulation allowed the then
\ninformation minister Harmoko to close three news weeklies, Tempo,
\nEditor and DeTik, in June 1994. The writer cited section VII on
\npenalties, specifically article 33, clause h, as the vehicle the
\nminister used to withdraw the publishing permits of the
\nmagazines.<\/p>\n
The article raised a question on the issue of clause h, which
\nstates that the information minister can revoke a publishing
\npermit if the National Press Council considers that a press
\norganization, in its publication activities, does not reflect a
\n"healthy, free and responsible press".<\/p>\n
The council is a Ministry of Information-affiliated body
\nassigned to advise the information minister on ways to develop
\nthe press industry. Its membership consists of media leaders,
\ngovernment officials and experts, with the minister as its
\nchairman.<\/p>\n
Clause h is the root of the prevailing insecurity of
\nIndonesia's press industry as the government can rescind the
\nlicense of a newspaper or magazine without giving any chance for
\nthe publication to defend itself.<\/p>\n
What raises concern is the lack of criteria by which a news
\npublication is considered as healthy, free and responsible.<\/p>\n
As neither the press law nor its related regulation provides a
\ndefinition on healthy, free and responsible press, the government
\nis criticized for having used its own yardstick when it canceled
\npermits.<\/p>\n
Purnama Kusumaningrat, a former editor of the Pelita daily,
\nsaid in a hearing with the House of Representatives in June 1991
\nthat article 33, in referring to clause h, is "an elastic
\narticle" which is open to broad interpretation.<\/p>\n
In discussing this point, Tempo editor Goenawan Mohamad raised
\na question in the June 22, 1991, edition of the magazine -- three
\nyears before the magazine was closed -- whether the government
\nhad the right to assume for itself the doctrine of infallibility
\nin the same way as the Pope assumed for the Roman Catholic
\nChurch.<\/p>\n
Although Indonesia's reading public lost three articulate news
\nweeklies, one good thing came out of their closure. It created an
\nopen debate on the fairness and validity of unilateral revocation
\nof publication permits.<\/p>\n
Goenawan later challenged the legality of the permit
\nwithdrawal of his magazine in the Jakarta administrative court.<\/p>\n
Although Goenawan lost his case when the Supreme Court ruled
\nagainst him in June 1996, sections of the press in commentaries
\nand panel discussions have called for the amendment of the 1984
\nregulation.<\/p>\n
They demand that the government seek a court's approval before
\nrevoking a publication permit. In other words, a news
\norganization should be able to seek judicial protection if the
\ngovernment intends to revoke a press license.<\/p>\n
Sentiment for such an amendment was so strong that it was one
\nof the first questions reporters raised to Army Chief General
\nHartono in June 1997, when President Soeharto appointed him as
\nnew information minister to replace Harmoko.<\/p>\n
In his first statement as information minister, Hartono nimbly
\nskirted the amendment issue invoking the authority of the
\nPresident instead. After his first meeting with Soeharto as
\ninformation minister on June 18, Hartono said the government
\nwould not act arbitrarily on matters concerning the publication
\npermit. The President emphasized this point, Hartono said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Journalists Association's secretary
\ngeneral, Parni Hadi, said in a discussion in Yogyakarta on Dec.
\n29, that his association wanted the 1984 regulation amended so
\nthat the withdrawal of a press license could only be done by
\ncourt order.<\/p>\n
Apparently, any likely move for amendment is on hold until
\nafter March. The People's Consultative Assembly will convene from
\nMarch 1 to March 12 to elect the president and vice president for
\nthe 1998-2003 term. The president will then form a cabinet by the
\nend of March.<\/p>\n
Whether the press law and related regulations will be amended
\nwill rest in the hands of the minister of information in the new
\ncabinet.<\/p>\n
The writer is a lecturer at the Dr. Sutomo Press Institute,
\nJakarta.<\/p>",
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