Media told to stand against restrictions, lawsuits<\/p>\n
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The national media should be wary over restrictions imposed by
\nthe military administration in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam and the
\nincreasing number of lawsuits brought against media outlets as
\nboth of these had the potential to destroy press freedom, a
\nsenior journalist warned on Friday.<\/p>\n
\"Threats are appearing before us. Many media outlets face
\nintimidation nowadays,\" Goenawan Mohammad said in a speech to
\ncommemorate Tempo magazine's struggle against attempts to muzzle
\nit.<\/p>\n
He was referring to the restrictions imposed by the military
\nadministration in Aceh on journalists covering the ongoing
\nconflict. Many journalists have complained about the
\nimplementation of the regulations, which have severely hampered
\nthem in doing their work.<\/p>\n
In his speech, Goenawan also focused on the increasing number
\nof libel suits being brought against the media.<\/p>\n
Among the media outlets currently facing both criminal and
\ncivil suits are the Rakyat Merdeka daily, which is being
\nprosecuted for allegedly insulting President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri, and also being sued in a civil action for libel by
\nHouse of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung, Tempo weekly,
\nwhich is currently facing eight lawsuits, mostly filed by
\nbusinessman Tomy Winata, and the Kompas daily, which is being
\nsued by businessman Marimutu Sinivasan.<\/p>\n
\"For a media outlet to be sued would not necessarily be a bad
\nthing if the case were to be heard by an impartial court. In
\nreality, however, it is the people who can buy prosecutors,
\njudges, police officers, journalists and military officers who
\nwill use this avenue to stifle press freedom,\" Goenawan said.<\/p>\n
He expressed concern about small media companies that lacked
\nthe money to hire good lawyers to defend them in the courts.<\/p>\n
To deal with this situation, the former Tempo chief editor
\nsuggested the coming forward of pro-bono lawyers to defend the
\nmedia in the courts.<\/p>\n
Teten Masduki, the director of Indonesia Corruption Watch
\n(ICW), also saw foul play afoot in the increasing number of
\nlawsuits being brought against the media of late.<\/p>\n
\"The press has come under attack recently as the powers which
\nwere momentarily discomfited by the reform movement are currently
\nconsolidating themselves,\" he said without elaborating.<\/p>\n
Teten said the trend had become a real danger and threat to
\npress freedom, which was almost the only thing that had survived
\nfrom the reform movement of 1998.<\/p>\n
\"The worst thing is that the powerful have been attempting to
\ncover up their corruption by suppressing the media, which will
\nlikely resort to self-censorship for fear of being sued,\" he
\nremarked.<\/p>\n
As the people behind the lawsuits always used unscrupulous
\nlawyers, Teten urged the media not to quote them in their
\nreports.<\/p>\n
\"This would be a kind of social sanction. The media must have
\nthe courage to face up to them as we can no longer trust the law
\nenforcers,\" he suggested.<\/p>\n
Tempo magazine was twice banned under the New Order regime. It
\nwas first banned in March 1982 over an article on the increasing
\ntrend of abstentionism in the 1982 general elections, and banned
\nagain in June 1994 over an article criticizing the purchase of
\nsecond-hand warships from the former East Germany.<\/p>",
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