Broadcasting bill 'limits' right to information<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The nation will soon have a new repressive broadcasting law after
\nthe government and the House of Representatives reached an
\nagreement last week to pass the broadcasting bill into law on
\nMonday.<\/p>\n
At the same time, those opposing the bill have decided to stop
\ntheir fight in the House as both the House and the government had
\nagreed on the passage of the bill.<\/p>\n
The opposition groups have, nevertheless, vowed to continue
\ntheir fight by bringing the case to the Supreme Court with a view
\nto asking the court to conduct a judicial review of the
\ncontroversial bill.<\/p>\n
Media observer Wiwiek Awiyati of the Coalition for Freedom of
\nInformation said on Saturday that those in the broadcasting
\nsector as well as the media should not stop fighting because the
\nbill gave a carte blanche to the government to suppress public
\naccess to information.<\/p>\n
The bill also gave the authorities a new power to interfere in
\nbroadcasting activities, which would eventually lead to some kind
\nof censorship.<\/p>\n
Zainal Suryokusumo of the Indonesian Press and Broadcasting
\nSociety (MPPI) agreed and said that the broadcasting bill was
\ndesigned erroneously.<\/p>\n
\"That bill has the potential to violate public rights,\" Zainal
\ntold The Jakarta Post here on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Zainal, who is the director of the Radio Network for Electoral
\nMonitoring, added that the broadcasting bill was not in line with
\nthe essence of the people's rights as set out in Article 28 (f)
\nof the 1945 Constitution.<\/p>\n
This article says that everyone has the right to communicate,
\nobtain information, develop their personalities and social
\nenvironment, and to seek, obtain, possess, store, analyze, and
\ndisseminate information by using all available means.<\/p>\n
\"This means that radio frequencies, which come within the
\npublic domain, should be used for the benefit of the people. The
\ngovernment must not interfere in this matter,\" Zainal added.<\/p>\n
Worse still, the bill would arbitrarily impose new
\nrestrictions on the country's television stations.<\/p>\n
Under the bill, television stations would not be allowed to
\nbroadcast nationwide. If a television station still wished to
\nhave nationwide coverage, it would have to collaborate with local
\npartners to form a national network.<\/p>\n
If a television broadcaster was unwilling to establish such a
\nnetworks, then it would have to close down its relay stations.
\nThis would ultimately curb the people's access to information.<\/p>\n
The new bill is more or less similar to the draconian Law No.
\n24\/1997 on broadcasting.<\/p>\n
The 1997 broadcasting law, which fell into abeyance following
\nthe dissolution of the Ministry of Information by then president
\nAbdurrahman Wahid, gives power to the government to intervene in
\nthe broadcasting industry through 23 government regulations.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, the new broadcasting bill gives similar
\npowers to the government to issue about 15 government regulations
\nto put flesh on the bones of the law.<\/p>\n
In addition, the bill also mandates the establishment of a
\nvery powerful body, the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission, which
\nwill have sweeping powers over the broadcasting industry.<\/p>\n
Based on Article 8 (2), the commission has the authority to
\nissue broadcasting regulations and guidelines.<\/p>\n
Leo Batubara, MPPI chairman, earlier described several
\narticles in the bill as \"monstrous\", and said he planned to seek
\na Supreme Court judicial review.<\/p>\n
One of the \"monstrous articles\" was Article 32 (4) which
\nprovides that a broadcasting license and its extension are to be
\nissued by the state after receiving the green light from the
\ncommission.<\/p>\n
This licensing requirement would likely force broadcasters,
\nespecially TV stations, to keep in with the powerholders toward
\nthe end of their license periods so as to ensure that their
\nlicenses would be renewed.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/broadcasting-bill-limits-right-to-information-1447893297",
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