Goenawan's right to sue minister questioned<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Information Harmoko yesterday
\nquestioned the right of Goenawan Mohamad, former chief editor of
\nTempo, to sue him for closing the magazine in June.<\/p>\n
Lawyers representing Harmoko told the Jakarta State
\nAdministrative Court that Goenawan did not have the prerogative
\nto file a lawsuit against the minister.<\/p>\n
\"Goenawan Mohamad must have the authority from PT. Grafiti
\nPers, the legal holder of the Tempo publishing license, in order
\nto file a suit,\" R. Wiyono, one of Harmoko's lawyers, said in his
\nstatement.<\/p>\n
The publishing license was issued to PT. Grafiti Pers in
\nDecember 1985.<\/p>\n
The lawyers said even the publisher's statutes do not empower
\na chief editor of Tempo to represent the firm in a legal matter.<\/p>\n
\"Only the company's president has the authority to represent
\nit inside and\/or outside the court,\" Wiyono said. The company's
\npresident, as declared in the approved publishing license, was
\nEric F.H. Samola.<\/p>\n
The minister's lawyers claimed that the lawsuit was \"vague\",
\nsaying that it was unclear whom Goenawan represents in his
\nlawsuit.<\/p>\n
\"Does he represent himself or the magazine's employees?\"
\nWiyono said in the defense, adding that the employees have filed
\ntheir own lawsuit against the minister.<\/p>\n
The lawyers also claimed that the Jakarta State Administrative
\nCourt does not have the authority to evaluate the contents of the
\n1945 Constitution.<\/p>\n
Goenawan claimed in his lawsuit that he has lost his rights to
\nexpress his opinion in writings, as guaranteed by the
\nconstitution, with the revocation of the license.<\/p>\n
\"It is the authority of the People's Consultative Assembly
\n(MPR) to evaluate the contents of Article 28 of the 1945
\nConstitution,\" the lawyers said.<\/p>\n
The article guarantees freedom of expression and assembly.<\/p>\n
Legal<\/p>\n
The minister's lawyers asked the court, at the end of their
\ndefense statement, to reject Goenawan's lawsuit and to declare
\nthe ministerial decree on the revocation of the magazine's
\npublishing license legal. They also asked the court to order
\nGoenawan to pay the trial expenses.<\/p>\n
\"The minister previously summoned Goenawan to account for the
\ncontent of the magazine's articles before finally revoking the
\nlicense,\" they said. \"He did not use his right to defend
\nhimself.\"<\/p>\n
Harmoko, who has encouraged Tempo to take the legal course to
\nsettle the issue, was not present at the hearing yesterday.<\/p>\n
Tempo, Indonesia's most established current affairs weekly,
\nlost its publishing license in June along with two other news
\nmagazines, Editor and DeTik. Tempo was closed because of certain
\naspects of its editorial content, although the government never
\ncategorically stipulated the articles that were deemed to be
\noffensive. Editor and DeTik were shut down for administrative
\nreasons.<\/p>\n
Goenawan filed the lawsuit against Harmoko in September,
\ncalling for a review of the revocation of the license and
\npermission for Tempo to re-establish publication.<\/p>\n
He claims that the information ministry abused its power by
\nclosing Tempo on the suspicion that it was irresponsible.<\/p>\n
He also challenged the information minister's remarks that
\nTempo was banned for the sake of national stability.<\/p>\n
\"The news reported by Tempo and other media did not disturb
\nnational stability, security, or order. The situation remained
\nstable, safe and orderly and the development program has
\ncontinued.\"<\/p>\n
Many observers believe that the trial has only academic
\ninterest because the magazine's assets have already been
\nliquidated and the majority of its employees have joined with
\ntimber tycoon Mohammad (Bob) Hasan to start a new magazine called
\nGatra. (imn)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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