'Kompas' fights back in Sinivasan libel suit<\/p>\n
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
In a legal twist on Monday, lawyers for Kompas daily countersued
\nthe owner of the Texmaco group, Marimutu Sinivasan, for vexatious
\nlitigation, and demanded US$150 million (approximately Rp 1.2
\ntrillion) in damages.<\/p>\n
"The plaintiff's lawsuit is baseless and it has hurt the
\nnational media," said the leader of the Kompas legal team, Amir
\nSyamsuddin, rebutting the plaintiff's demand for $151 million in
\ndamages for news articles on Sinivasan and the Texmaco group
\nsince 1999.<\/p>\n
Amir's argument was based on Sinivasan's failure to identify
\nthe relationships between himself and the 18 companies affiliated
\nto Texmaco.<\/p>\n
In his lawsuit, Sinivasan had asked the court to seize assets
\nbelonging to the daily, its founder Jakob Oetama and chief editor
\nSoeryopratomo.<\/p>\n
Amir also highlighted the absence of a legal agreement between
\nthe daily and the business group which, in accordance with a
\nSupreme Court precedent, was a main precondition for a civil
\nsuit.<\/p>\n
Further, he argued that the Civil Code stipulated that a libel
\nsuit became statute-barred after one year of its publication. The
\nCivil Code also stipulated that serving the public interest was a
\ngood defense to a libel action.<\/p>\n
Therefore, Amir said, 29 of the 34 news articles published
\nbetween November 1999 and April 2003 could not be used as causes
\nof action by the plaintiff.<\/p>\n
"This action has further damaged the plaintiff's credibility,"
\nhe added.<\/p>\n
Sinivasan's lawyer Y.B. Purwaning M. Yanuar, from the law firm
\nof Otto Cornelis Kaligis and Associates, asked Presiding Judge
\nIskandar Tjake to adjourn the hearing until July 14 for the
\ndefense to prepare their counterarguments.<\/p>\n
The case is based on 34 articles and cartoons published in
\nKompas daily which the defense says tarnished the image of the
\nbusinessman and Texmaco's 18 affiliated companies, and had
\nprevented them from expanding their businesses and obtaining
\nloans.<\/p>\n
The articles mostly alleged nepotism in the granting of the
\nfacilities received by Sinivasan's original textile company from
\nformer president Soeharto, which were said to have enabled the
\ncompany to expand into a group whose businesses also include
\nengineering, chemical production and truck manufacturing firms.<\/p>\n
Sinivasan's lawyers claimed these news articles had libeled
\ntheir client and demanded $150 million to make good the group's
\nmaterial losses. The businessman also demanded the defendants be
\nordered to pay an additional $1 million in non-material damages.<\/p>\n
Sinivasan also demanded that the defendants publish full-page
\napologies in a number of national dailies and magazines, and to
\ntake out airtime to apologize on national television.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, Sinivasan has asked the court to seize the
\naccused's assets to prevent them being disposed off pending the
\noutcome of the case.<\/p>\n
In a separate courtroom, Texmaco lawyers were also suing Tempo
\nweekly magazine, demanded that the defendant be ordered to pay a
\ntotal of $51 million in libel damages.<\/p>\n
The judges adjourned both hearings until next week to hear
\nfurther arguments from both the defense and the plaintiffs.<\/p>",
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