Government to regulate laser disc circulation<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government will issue a regulation on laser
\ndiscs later this month to end the decade old controversy over the
\nlegality of their circulation in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Along with the laser disc regulation, the Ministry of
\nInformation will issue two decrees on the renaming of the
\nNational Film Censorship Body and the establishment of the
\nNational Film Advisory Council, which will replace it.<\/p>\n
It is unclear if the duties of the state film institution will
\nbe restructured.<\/p>\n
Alex Leo Zulkarnain, the Director General for Radio,
\nTelevision and Film, said on Friday that the circulation of laser
\ndiscs will eventually be legalized.<\/p>\n
The government will announce the legal status of every
\nimported laser disc once it has been screened by the advisory
\ncouncil, which will determine whether it will be released to the
\npublic without censorship, or be censored, or totally prohibited.<\/p>\n
At present, laser discs are banned under Ministry of
\nInformation Regulation No. 20\/1983. This regulation has not been
\nenforced effectively and discs are openly on sale and for rent.<\/p>\n
The 1983 regulation was issued following reports of illegal
\ndoor-to-door distribution of smuggled laser discs.<\/p>\n
However, crackdowns on disc sales are rarely heard of except
\nwhen the films are considered pornographic. Because the legal
\nstatus of the commodity remained dubious, the now defunct
\ncensorship body was never properly equipped to censor discs.<\/p>\n
Merger<\/p>\n
Alex also said the Ministry of Finance was still evaluating
\nthe possibility of merging the state-run Radio Republik Indonesia
\n(RRI) with Televisi Republik Indonesia (TVRI) into one state-
\nowned enterprise.<\/p>\n
The plan to merge the two state-owned electronic mass media
\ninto one enterprise was first made public last year.<\/p>\n
Alex said that merging the two state-run enterprises was not
\nas simple as many people might think because each has different
\ncharacteristics.<\/p>\n
The new enterprise must be profit-oriented, while as
\nindividual journalistic institutions, RRI and TVRI are supposed
\nto maintain their non-profit service idealism, Alex said.<\/p>\n
\"We'll have to carefully compile a law on the resulting state-
\nowned firm if we want to merge them,\" Alex was quoted by the
\nAntara news agency as saying.<\/p>\n
He said he remained undecided, when asked if TVRI would
\neventually be allowed to air commercials as many people keep
\nsuggesting to reduce its financial dependence on state funds.<\/p>\n
\"TVRI will surely air commercials if the House of
\nRepresentatives requires it to do so,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The government banned commercials on TVRI in the early 1980s
\non the grounds that the programs \"encouraged consumerism\" among
\nthe populace. Only private-sector television stations air
\nadvertisements at present. (02)<\/p>",
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