Police chief orders probe into `Tempo' attack<\/p>\n
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
National Police Chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar has ordered an
\ninvestigation into the recent mob attack on the offices of Tempo
\nmagazine, which was sparked by an article on businessman Tomy
\nWinata.<\/p>\n
"The police have begun to enforce the law (regarding the
\nattack)," Da'i said after a meeting with dozens of public figures
\nwho demanded tough measures against those involved in the attack.<\/p>\n
Da'i said the police were currently questioning Tempo chief
\neditor Bambang Harymurti and one of the magazine's editors, Ahmad
\nTaufik, as victim witnesses of the attack, which took place on
\nSaturday.<\/p>\n
The police previously said they would only investigate the
\ncase should Tempo file a complaint.<\/p>\n
But the weekly believes that it does not need to file a report
\nsince a number of police officers witnessed how the crowd,
\nclaiming to be employees and sympathizers of Tomy, used force to
\noccupy the Tempo offices on Jl. Proklamasi in Central Jakarta and
\nbeat Bambang and Taufik at the Central Jakarta Police station.<\/p>\n
Public figures appearing at the National Police Headquarters
\nin a show of support for the magazine's staff included Ahmad
\nSyafii Maarif, the chairman of the country's second largest
\nMuslim organization, Muhammadiyah, senior journalists Goenawan
\nMohamad and Fikri Jufri, lawyers Todung Mulya Lubis and Luhut M
\nPangaribuan, legislator Dwi Ria Latifa, rights activist Hendardi,
\nformer finance minister Mar'ie Muhammad, Muslim scholar
\nKomaruddin Hidayat and economists Faisal Basri and Lin Che Wei.<\/p>\n
Another rally to protest violence against the media took place
\nin Denpasar, the capital of Bali. A group of 70 journalists and
\nnon-governmental organization (NGO) activists gathered at the
\nprovincial legislature to condemn the attack on Tempo, which they
\nsaid went against the government's decision to declare 2003 as a
\nyear free of violence.<\/p>\n
Todung said during the meeting with Da'i that the attack on
\nthe weekly had raised concerns of "hoodlumism" against the media.<\/p>\n
"Tempo might have made a mistake in its report. But violence
\nis not the answer," Todung told reporters. He said the public
\nfigures warned that these incidents would undermine press freedom
\nin the country.<\/p>\n
Instead of attacking the press, there are other choices people
\ncan pursue to correct inaccurate reporting, Todung said.<\/p>\n
"People could choose from exercising their right to respond to
\nthe article, settling out of court, suing the media or even
\nboycotting it," he said.<\/p>\n
He was referring to a settlement of a dispute involving the
\nIndonesian Military (TNI) and The Washington Post newspaper over
\na report of the military's alleged involvement in an attack on
\nFreeport employees last year. The U.S. daily clarified the
\nreport, admitting to having no solid evidence to back up its
\nstory.<\/p>\n
Separately, Tomy and lawyer Desmond J. Mahesa filed a report
\nwith the Jakarta Police alleging defamation against him by Tempo.
\nTomy, the owner of the Artha Graha group, had sent a legal
\nwarning to the weekly over its report a day before some 200
\npeople attacked the magazine's offices.<\/p>\n
The attackers demanded that Tempo retract an article in its
\nMarch 3 edition, which quoted a source as saying that Tomy had
\nproposed a Rp 53 billion (US$5.9 million) renovation of the Tanah
\nAbang textile market before it was gutted by fire last month. The
\nmagazine called Tomy "a scavenger" for taking advantage of the
\nfire.<\/p>\n
The protesters later forced Taufik to reveal the name of the
\nsource, but the editor refused.<\/p>\n
No one has been arrested over the attack.<\/p>\n
According to Press Law No. 40\/1999, people who commit a crime
\nagainst press freedom face a maximum jail sentence of two years
\nand a fine of up to Rp 500 million.<\/p>\n
Tempo has said it would face Tomy's charges in court.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/police-chief-orders-probe-into-tempo-attack-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }