Ban on foreign broadcasts<\/p>\n
Early every Thursday morning, starting at 5:30 a.m., I am used
\nto listening to the Voice of America (VOA) talk show on TV
\nchannel Indosiar. The show is very interesting and highly
\ninformative. On Thursday Aug. 29, the show featured an interview
\nwith an Indonesian scholar studying for her PhD at the University
\nof Maryland on a topic titled: What are the factors impeding (the
\nprogress of) the women's emancipation movement in Indonesia?<\/p>\n
Most interesting were the questions put forward by Indonesian
\nlisteners, while the eloquent answers from the scholar proved to
\nbe very informative. Alas, these educational VOA talk shows that
\nfeature interesting topics face the danger of being banned by a
\nbill, which, if enacted, will eliminate the transmission of
\nforeign broadcasts on domestic TV channels.<\/p>\n
The article by Abdullah Alamudi titled New broadcast bill
\nkills press freedom (The Jakarta Post, Sept.2) came as a
\ntremendous shock. According to the report, while the reception of
\nforeign broadcasts on satellite will be permitted, publicly
\nairing the shows on domestic TV stations will be prohibited. This
\nkind of discrimination being predicated on just the distinction
\nof media facility is preposterous, because this means people who
\ncan afford to have a satellite dish in the city are able to watch
\nforeign broadcasts, but those living in remote areas of the
\ncountry without any access to a satellite dish will be denied the
\nprivilege.<\/p>\n
In defense of the usefulness of foreign broadcasts, in terms
\nof how they disseminate general knowledge and information, it is
\nnecessary to keep in mind, at least, some pertinent precepts as
\nfollows. In Law No. 39\/1999 on basic human rights, everyone is
\nentitled to have access to information on the benefits of
\nscience, technology, art and culture consistent with human
\ndignity, and to be able to communicate and have access to
\ninformation necessary to advancing their personal intellect and
\ndeveloping their social environment (Articles 13 and 14).<\/p>\n
It can be argued that the anticipated ban on airing foreign
\nbroadcasts on local TV is utterly unfounded from both aspects of
\nnational law and international law.<\/p>\n
SRI HARTATI, Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ban-on-foreign-broadcasts-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }