'No guarantee of press freedom in Constitution'<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The 1945 Constitution does not specifically
\nguarantee freedom of the press in Indonesia, leading mass
\ncommunication expert Ashadi Siregar said yesterday.<\/p>\n
Article 28 of the Constitution, which is considered the
\ncornerstone of press freedom, refers to the supervision of
\nfreedom of expression through laws and does not explicitly
\nguarantee such rights, Ashadi said.<\/p>\n
Article 28 reads: \"The freedom of association and assembly, of
\nexpressing thought and of issuing writings and the like, shall be
\nprescribed by statutes.\"<\/p>\n
\"With that, the provisions in Article 28 of the 1945
\nConstitution do not have any meaning unless there is already an
\nexisting statute which regulates the freedom to associate and
\nassemble along with the right to express one's thoughts both
\norally and through writing,\" Ashadi contended.<\/p>\n
The lecturer at Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University's School
\nof Political and Social Sciences said that article 28 differs
\nfrom other articles which ensure specific rights of the people.<\/p>\n
As an example he described article 27 and 29 of the
\nConstitution.<\/p>\n
Article 27 reads that \"without exception\" all citizens have
\nequal positions before the law and government, while Article 29
\nsays the state \"shall guarantee\" religious rights.<\/p>\n
\"It is unfortunate that the founders of our republic, despite
\nthemselves using the press as a means to fight for independence,
\ndid not explicitly insert the right of citizens to express and
\nacquire information,\" Ashadi said during a two-day seminar on
\n\"Reconstructing the Goals of Our Republic\" at the Indonesian
\nInstitute of Sciences.<\/p>\n
Speakers and commentators at the seminar said that the wording
\nof the article was a compromise for those who drafted the
\nConstitution and who thought that an explicit elaboration of
\npress freedom would transform the country into a liberal state.<\/p>\n
Legislation<\/p>\n
The current press legislation is regulated in the 1982 law,
\nwhich, according to Ashadi, \"opens gaps allowing the state
\nbureaucracy to impose its will.\"<\/p>\n
Fikri Jufri, the former chief editor of the banned Tempo
\nweekly, commented that it is imperative to pass legislation which
\nprotects the press from forced closures and bannings.<\/p>\n
\"As long as none is in existence, we can't talk about freedom
\nof the press,\" said Fikri.<\/p>\n
Tempo, along with two other publications -- DeTik and Editor
\n-- had their publishing licenses revoked by the government last
\nyear for \"editorial and administrative reasons\".<\/p>\n
Fikri stated that there has never been press freedom in
\nIndonesia. He recalled that in the late 1960s and 1970s
\nthere was a tendency to stifle press freedom, pointing to the
\nmass bannings of several publications in 1974.<\/p>\n
If the government is discontent with the press, they should
\ntake legal action against the publications in question and not
\nban or revoke their licenses, he said. \"One thing that has to be
\nguaranteed by legislation is that no matter what happens it (a
\npublication) cannot be killed.\"<\/p>\n
He reasoned that no matter how harsh or critical a newspaper
\nis, it can rarely threaten the survival of a government or topple
\nits leaders.<\/p>\n
The only extraordinary case was in the United States when the
\nWatergate scandal exposed by the American press led to the
\nresignation of then President Richard Nixon in 1974, he said.<\/p>\n
According to Fikri, Indonesian officials are often too
\nsensitive and cannot accept criticism. \"As long as our officials
\nare still that sensitive, don't talk about press freedom or
\ndemocracy,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Ashadi similarly commented on the declining level of tolerance
\nagainst the press. \"The political room to maneuver provided by
\nthe state bureaucracy is shrinking...People get offended very
\neasily,\" he remarked. (mds)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/no-guarantee-of-press-freedom-in-constitution-1447893297",
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