Libel suit threatens RI democracy<\/p>\n
Paul Wolfowitz, The Straits Times, Asia News Network, Singapore<\/p>\n
The trial of one brave journalist in Indonesia has
\nimplications far beyond the courtroom in Jakarta. By the time
\nthis article appears, the Central Jakarta District Court is due
\nto have handed down a verdict in the case of Bambang Harymurti,
\nchief editor of Tempo, Indonesia's leading news magazine, and two
\nof his colleagues.<\/p>\n
I hope reason will prevail on the court and this charge --
\nwhich should never have been filed -- will be dismissed. However,
\nthe mere fact that this case has been brought is a threat to the
\nfreedom and democracy Indonesia has enjoyed since the collapse of
\nthe Soeharto government six years ago.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian government has charged Bambang with criminal
\ndefamation. The charges stem from an article in Tempo on
\naccusations that a suspicious fire in a market in Jakarta last
\nFebruary may have been connected to plans to turn the area into a
\nfancy commercial shopping center. The plans were possibly
\nconnected to a wealthy Indonesian businessman named Tomy Winata.<\/p>\n
Tomy sued for civil defamation and, unusually, the government
\ncharged Bambang and two of his colleagues with criminal
\ndefamation under laws dating to the Dutch colonial period and
\nearly years of independence. Prosecutors have asked for two-year
\nsentences and -- even more unusual -- have asked that Bambang be
\ndetained immediately, treating him like a dangerous criminal who
\nshould not be allowed to remain at large.<\/p>\n
In the interest of disclosure, I should say I have known
\nBambang for almost 20 years. I knew him particularly well in the
\nlate 1980s, when I was United States ambassador in Jakarta. I
\nknow him to be a journalist of enormous integrity, someone who
\ntakes seriously his responsibility not only to publish the truth
\nbut also not to publish falsehoods. He is also a Muslim who has
\ncourageously denounced terrorism and extremism in the editorial
\npages of his magazine.<\/p>\n
However, my concerns about this case extend far beyond my
\nworry about the fate of a friend. I believe the whole world has a
\nstake in the success of democracy in Indonesia. If this country
\nof almost 240 million, with more Muslims than any other in the
\nworld -- indeed, with more than 15 percent of the world's Muslim
\npopulation -- can demonstrate its capacity to develop democratic
\ninstitutions, even in the face of economic adversity, it will be
\na valuable example to the rest of the world.<\/p>\n
This is particularly true because Indonesia's strong tradition
\nof religious tolerance in a nation that is almost 90 percent
\nMuslim also makes it an important role model in the post-Sept. 11
\nworld. It is no accident that the terrorist fanatics associated
\nwith al-Qaeda have attacked Indonesia, even before the horrendous
\nbombings in Bali in October 2002. And the attacks continue, with
\none just last week.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has made remarkable progress in developing
\ndemocratic institutions, despite the catastrophic economic
\nconditions the new government inherited with the financial
\ncollapse that accompanied the demise of the Soeharto
\ndictatorship. The country held a fair presidential election in
\n1999, parliamentary elections last April and is about to conduct
\na run-off next Monday to complete its second democratic
\npresidential election. These are no small achievements.<\/p>\n
While holding two fair presidential elections in a row is a
\nhallmark of democratic progress, the real test of a democracy is
\nhow it protects the rights of its citizens.<\/p>\n
Accordingly, the rule of law is one of the essential pillars
\nof a democratic society. There are few powers a democratic state
\npossesses that are as awesome as the power to prosecute its own
\ncitizens lawfully, and few things more threatening to a true
\ndemocracy than the abuse of that prosecutorial power.<\/p>\n
One of the worst possible ways power can be abused is to take
\naway the freedom of the press and so remove one of the most
\nimportant mechanisms to ensure the government respects the rights
\nof its citizens. As Bambang pointed out in his eloquent pleading
\nbefore the court last month, the collapse of Indonesia's first
\nbrief experience with democracy in the 1950s began with \"an
\nattempt to undermine freedom of the domestic press through the
\ncriminalisation of journalists\".<\/p>\n
Under president Sukarno, 60 press cases were brought before
\nthe Special State Court in September 1957 alone. As Bambang said:
\n\"The world's train has long raced away from the station where
\njournalistic works are still criminalised. We ought to be
\nincluded in the carriage of the world community's progress, and
\nnot left behind at the station of backwardness, one that is more
\nfitting to be displayed in a museum and not as a destination.\"<\/p>\n
Both candidates in next Monday's presidential run-off election
\nhave expressed concern over this case. One hopes beyond
\nacquitting Bambang and his colleagues of any of the criminal
\ncharges pressed against them, Indonesia will take steps to ensure
\nthis intimidation of a free press should cease.<\/p>\n
The writer is U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense. Copyright: New
\nYork Times Syndicate.<\/p>",
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