Mega guarantees freedom of the press: Commission<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri told the nation's broadcasters
\non Wednesday that she would not impose any new restrictions on
\nthe country's press, even though there have been suggestions that
\nher administration has been curbing freedom of expression.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a meeting with the Indonesian Broadcasting
\nCommission (KPI), Megawati, who is seeking a full five-year term
\nin the September election, said that her government would not
\nimpose any regulations that violated the laws that deal with the
\npress or broadcasters.<\/p>\n
"We were asking about her stance on press freedom following a
\nrecent decision by the Constitutional Court to return the
\nauthority of regulating the broadcast media to the government,"
\nKPI chairman Victor Menayang said after the meeting.<\/p>\n
The court ruled on July 28 the broadcasting law did not
\ncontradict the constitution and that the KPI's authority to
\nimpose administrative sanctions, such as revoking broadcasting
\npermits, should be exercised according to the law.<\/p>\n
"She added that she had never showed any tendencies to limit
\npress freedom and she only once filed a lawsuit against a
\nnewspaper because it was way out of line," Victor said,
\nparaphrasing the president.<\/p>\n
Victor explained that the KPI, a semi-independent agency,
\nrecently set up which some have called the reincarnation of the
\nrepressive and now-defunct Ministry of Information, had met with
\nthe President after a recent decision by the Constitutional Court
\non July 28 to approve amendments to the broadcasting law and
\nreturn the authority to the government to regulate the electronic
\nmedia in the country.<\/p>\n
He said that currently the KPI only had the authority to
\nimplement the regulations and thus had to wait for the government
\nto decide on the electronic media problems.<\/p>\n
"We will continue to ensure that the government will not issue
\nany regulations that violate the laws governing the press,"
\nVictor added.<\/p>\n
Megawati's administration has been criticized for various
\nlegal actions taken against the media using the often harsher
\ncolonial-era Criminal Code, instead of the Press Law.<\/p>\n
Various lawsuits against the press have raised fears that the
\ngovernment and the private sector were working together to curb
\nthe freedom of expression by pressing charges against journalists
\nand media outfits using the Criminal Code and not the Press Law.<\/p>\n
Last year, the President sued Rakyat Merdeka for defamation,
\nwhile Tempo magazine and Koran Tempo are still dealing with a
\nvariety of legal battles.<\/p>\n
The media community has repeatedly criticized such action,
\nsaying that all cases against the media should be dealt with the
\nPress Law, or else freedom of the press would be under threat.<\/p>\n
Separately, KPI member Bimo Nugroho said that the agency had
\nreceived reports from employees of two privately-owned TV
\nstations, as they were required to take sides with the final two
\npresidential candidates vying for power in September's election.<\/p>\n
"We received reports from RCTI and Metro TV television
\nstations that there has been intervention against their work in
\ncovering the activities of the two presidential candidates," Bimo
\nsaid at the State Palace.<\/p>\n
He emphasized that the campaign teams should not interfere
\nwith the media as it needed to remain independent, especially
\nduring the election period.<\/p>",
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