House set to endorse broadcast, party bills<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The House of Representatives (DPR) is set to endorse on Thursday
\ntwo contentious bills, one on political parties and one on
\nbroadcasting, despite strong opposition from political parties
\nand broadcasting worker's unions.<\/p>\n
The long-overdue political parties bill was scheduled to be
\nendorsed last Tuesday, but was delayed as legislators failed to
\nreach an agreement on the inclusion of two People's Consultative
\nAssembly decrees, one on the banning of communism and one on
\nannual reports by state institutions, in the preamble to the bill<\/p>\n
The chairman of the House special committee charged with
\ndeliberating the bill, Yahya Zaini, said on Wednesday that all
\nthe factions had reached an agreement on the substance of the
\nbill.<\/p>\n
He revealed that there had only been a short debate on the
\ninclusion of the Assembly decrees.<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party
\nof Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) had insisted that the decrees be
\nexcluded from the bill's preamble, arguing that they would be
\nreviewed during next year's annual session of the Assembly.<\/p>\n
According to the PDI Perjuangan, the decrees would be revoked,
\nand therefore there was no need to include them in the preamble
\nto the political parties bill.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the broadcasting bill, which was supposed to have
\nbeen endorsed on Monday, was delayed until Thursday because of
\npoor attendance by legislators and opposition from media
\npractitioners.<\/p>\n
And the protests against the bill continued on Wednesday when
\ntelevision broadcasters grouped in the Indonesian Television
\nBroadcasting Association (ATVSI) met Assembly Speaker Amien Rais
\nto voice their objections.<\/p>\n
The delegation, headed by Karni Ilyas of SCTV, condemned the
\nbill, saying that it was repressive and threatened the existence
\nof private sector broadcasters.<\/p>\n
\"We urge the government and the legislators to delay the
\nendorsement and to review the bill,\" Karni read from a prepared
\nstatement.<\/p>\n
Karni, who was accompanied by Andi F. Noya (Metro TV),
\nWisnuhadi (RCTI), Nurhadi Purwosaputro (Indosiar), and Uni Lubis
\n(TV7), acknowledged that his group had submitted its views during
\nthe deliberation of the bill.<\/p>\n
However, he claimed that 99 percent of the group's input had
\nbeen ignored by legislators.<\/p>\n
Responding to the complaint, Amien appealed to legislators to
\ngive time for further talks on the bill before bringing it before
\na plenary session for endorsement.<\/p>\n
\"I think it needs more time before being endorsed. No need to
\nhurry,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Amien, who also chairs the National Mandate Party (PAN), said
\nthat the different views expressed on the broadcasting bill had
\nprompted him to reassess it.<\/p>\n
He added that a broadcasting law was a very strategic
\ninstrument in that it could lead to either greater or less
\ndemocracy.<\/p>\n
If there was no freedom of the press, Amien said, it would
\nonly lead to a bad situation.<\/p>\n
\"But if freedom of the press exists, there are two
\npossibilities. It may give rise to a good or a bad situation
\ndepending on the television stations,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/house-set-to-endorse-broadcast-party-bills-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}