'Communication among people is improving'<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Wimar Witoelar, a political observer and popular
\ntalk show host, says the public's desire for \"free communication\"
\nis strong enough to withstand government attempts to control it.<\/p>\n
\"The public's desire for free communication continues to exist
\nand grow strong, even as the government tries to oppress it,\"
\nsaid Wimar, whose show Perspektif on private television station
\nSCTV was suddenly halted last year, reportedly because it was
\noften critical of the government.<\/p>\n
\"Communication among people is improving recently. This is not
\nthe case between people and the government,\" he told The Jakarta
\nPost during a break at the seminar on broadcasting here
\nyesterday. \"Members of the power elite try to seal communication
\noff.\"<\/p>\n
\"I think the elite group can't stand (to communicate) because
\nthey have so much to hide,\" he said. He added that the
\ngovernment's fear of open communication is to blame for the
\ndeteriorating \"political culture\" of the country.<\/p>\n
\"This fear of open communication is among the marks of the
\ndecline of Indonesian society today,\" he said. He praised,
\nhowever, the increase of interest in political matters among the
\npeople, saying that the development was a cause for optimism.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that people with power tend to abuse their
\npositions to limit communications. But the public has been
\ndealing with the oppression by seeking alternative channels, such
\nas the Internet.<\/p>\n
He identified a number of methods employed by the power
\nholders to suppress public communication, including censorship.<\/p>\n
The power holders may defend censorship as a way to protect
\n\"the purity of state ideology\", but that rationale is outdated
\nand even downright naive, Wimar said.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that censorship of free communication may in
\nfact be the campaign of an individual member of the powerful
\nelite seeking to shield some facts -- such as illegal business
\ndeals -- from public exposure.<\/p>\n
The other types of campaigns to suppress public communication
\nhe mentioned were propaganda and co-optation of the mass media.<\/p>\n
He expressed hopes for democratization and empowerment of the
\npress. \"As the last stronghold of social values and the last
\npublic institution to maintain sovereignty, the press has to be
\ndemocratized internally and externally,\" Wimar said.<\/p>\n
Another speaker, Paul Chadwick of the Melbourne-based
\nCommunications Law Center, said that journalists often have to
\ndeal with many conflicts in their effort to exercise their
\nrights: the right to seek the truth and tell it, and the right to
\nindependence.<\/p>\n
\"Journalists need to be independent from the government, from
\nmedia owners, from advertisers and patrons. Yet, they cannot be
\nentirely independent of any of these,\" Chadwick told the Post.<\/p>\n
The conflicts regarding the government, for instance, stem
\nfrom the fact that the government doesn't merely make laws under
\nwhich media business operate. It is also, for many media, the
\nprimary source of news.<\/p>\n
\"... producing products of information and opinion is not the
\nsame as producing things such as cars ... The owners, just like
\nthe journalists, who have particular responsibilities, are
\nresponsible to allow journalists to be independent,\" Chadwick
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that the public will lose confidence in the
\nmedia, as well as their interests, if the journalists were not
\nindependent.<\/p>\n
William Atkins, a researcher at the Department of Government
\nof the University of Sydney, reminded both print and broadcast
\njournalists of the importance of balanced, accurate and impartial
\nreporting.<\/p>\n
\"Journalists must never be `captured' by any political
\ninterest groups in society,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The three-day seminar, entitled Open Skies Policy : Towards an
\nOpen Society, the Challenge of Public Broadcasting in Asia, is
\nbeing organized by the Indonesian Institute for Press Studies,
\nthe unrecognized Alliance of Independent Journalists and the
\nInternational Federation of Journalists. The seminar is scheduled
\nto conclude today.(31)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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