Emerging fears of press control<\/p>\n
Kornelius Purba, Paris<\/p>\n
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's serious consideration of
\nthe empowerment of the Office of the State Minister of
\nCommunications and Information has raised concerns among many
\nparties, particularly the press.<\/p>\n
The timing of the President's decision to put state-owned
\ntelecommunications industries under the state minister's office,
\nwhich was coincidentally around National Press Day on Feb. 8, has
\nfueled further speculation as to the President's real agenda.<\/p>\n
Reports have been made that the President has reversed his
\nposition on the state minister's office. However, it is not
\nunusual for the government to retract a controversial plan due to
\npublic pressure, but press ahead with it at a later date, when
\nthe public has forgotten the issue.<\/p>\n
Is Susilo's plan purely aimed at the acceleration of the
\ndevelopment of the country's information technology, as his aides
\ninsist, or does it reach beyond the official statement? If IT
\ndevelopment acceleration is the only reason, why was the industry
\nnot put under the Office of the State Minister of Research and
\nTechnology? It is certainly possible that the President is
\nsincere about empowering the communications and information
\noffice, but if the behavior of previous governments is any
\nindication, it is not out of the question that in the future the
\ngovernment could be tempted to use the office as a powerful tool
\nagainst opposition to it.<\/p>\n
The fact that State Minister of Communications and Information
\nSofyan A. Djalil belongs to the President's inner circle only
\nadds to the suspicion. Financial reasons for the decision have
\nalso been cited, because the blue-chip companies have reportedly
\nbecome cash cows for political parties. And, the President needs
\nfunding resources other than the state budget.<\/p>\n
Before the decision, companies such as PT Telkom were
\ntechnically under the auspices of the Ministry of Transportation,
\nbut administratively also under the Office of the State Minister
\nof State Enterprises. Many parties, particularly the media --
\nboth print and electronic -- worry that the government is really
\nafter more effective control of the media, which continues to be
\nhostile against the government. Perhaps such a fear is unfounded,
\nbut we should never forget that under Soeharto, until his fall in
\n1998, the information ministry was an effective tool for the
\noppression of criticism against the government.<\/p>\n
The country's third president, Abdurrahman Wahid, scrapped the
\ninformation ministry in 1999. His successor Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri revived it in 2001, although with much less power.
\nSince then, from time to time, efforts have been made by the
\ngovernment to strengthen the ministry. During the Soeharto era,
\nthe government and inner circles of power used violence and
\nthreats to silence or intimidate the press, now they use legal
\nmeans against the media. With our corrupt judicial system, that
\nlawsuits can be settled without the interference of money, is
\nmore often than not just a hope.<\/p>\n
Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and a string of deadly
\nterror attacks in Indonesia, western countries, notably the
\nUnited States and Australia, have reportedly been sharing
\nsophisticated antiterror equipment with the Indonesian police,
\nincluding the technology to cut in on telephone wires and even
\nInternet communications to get information on suspected
\nterrorists.<\/p>\n
An employee of a multi-national company recently disclosed the
\ncompany's fear that police may have tapped the company's
\ncommunications lines, including the cellular phones of its
\nexecutives. When they held meetings, it became standard procedure
\nfor executives to not only switch off their cell phones, but pull
\nout the cell phone's batteries to prevent tapping. Perhaps the
\nallegation is baseless, but it is difficult for the police to
\nshake off their bad reputation for power abuse.<\/p>\n
Some telecommunications experts who attended the Alcatel Forum
\n2005 confirmed that it is common practice -- even protected by
\nthe law -- for many governments to intercept telecommunications
\ntraffic if they feel it urgent, especially in regards to national
\nsecurity issues.<\/p>\n
\"It is a quite common practice (to tap telephone
\nconversations), and the governments are protected by the law,\"
\nsaid Brian Witt, an Alcatel expert, when asked by The Jakarta
\nPost about such practices on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Any democratic country requires a free and professional media.
\nBecause Indonesia's media has only really enjoyed press freedom
\nin the last seven years, the media has also been guilty of
\nabusing its newfound freedom. The fast growth of the media
\nindustry has not been in accordance with the professional human
\nresources available. Not only government officials but ordinary
\npeople have had cause to be unhappy with what has been reported
\nby a media that thinks the truth \"belongs to them\". Reporting
\nfact and slander has at times been confused. However, rather than
\ncracking down on such practices, we need to help the media to
\ndevelop and prosper.<\/p>\n
Likewise, we should wholeheartedly support efforts to develop
\nour IT industry as we are lagging far behind our neighbors like
\nMalaysia and Thailand.<\/p>\n
Paranoia is not healthy, but there is nothing wrong with
\nkeeping in mind Soeharto's brutal treatment of the press as we
\nwitness contemporary developments. After all, history tends to
\nrepeat itself.<\/p>\n
The author is a staff writer of The Jakarta Post.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/emerging-fears-of-press-control-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }