Press bans spur new debate on openness<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government, facing accusations of turning
\nback the clock on democracy, yesterday said the ban against three
\nnews magazines would not have happened if they had used their
\nnewly gained freedom more wisely.<\/p>\n
Minister\/State Secretary Moerdiono gave his assurances that
\nthe government remains committed to the present course of
\npolitical openness<\/p>\n
He said the press must continue to observe the journalistic
\ncode of ethics. \"Put it into practice and nothing will happen.\"<\/p>\n
On a separate occasion last night, Moerdiono said that
\neveryone should shoulder the responsibility of maintaining the
\ncurrent momentum of openness.<\/p>\n
\"Don't let anyone slip out,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The minister was continually haunted, yesterday, by the
\nquestion of the government's commitment to openness. Many people
\nsaid that they doubted the commitment following the government's
\ndecision to revoke the publishing licenses of Tempo, Editor and
\nDeTIK on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
There were two separate demonstrations yesterday in front of
\nthe Ministry of Information office in Central Jakarta, bringing
\nin journalists, students and activists together protesting at the
\ngovernment's clampdown on the three magazines.<\/p>\n
Critics of the government said Indonesia was back-tracking on
\npolitical openness.<\/p>\n
The Association of Indonesian Journalists (PWI) and the
\nAssociation of Newspaper Publishers (SPS), while falling short of
\ncriticizing the government, joined in the chorus seeking
\ngovernment's assurances that the trend towards openness will
\ncontinue.<\/p>\n
In separate statements, they hoped the revocation of the
\nlicenses would not discourage the press, the government and the
\npublic in pursuing greater political openness.<\/p>\n
Mechanisms<\/p>\n
\"PWI believes that, if the government uses the existing legal
\nmechanisms and the press adheres to organizational mechanisms,
\nthis will not happen,\" PWI said.<\/p>\n
SPS, calling the bans a \"tragedy\" to the Indonesian press,
\nurged the government to see to it that the closing down of the
\nnewspapers would not cause additional suffering to the ill-fated
\nemployees.<\/p>\n
\"The tragedy should serve as a reminder for us to implement
\nthe positive interactions between the press, the government and
\nthe public,\" the statement said.<\/p>\n
Spokesman for the Armed Forces (ABRI), Brig. Gen. Syarwan
\nHamid described the bans as \"unwanted, regrettable and (events
\nwhich) should not have happened.\"<\/p>\n
\"I'm close to the press and therefore I hope the press will
\nlearn from this lesson,\" he told Suara Pembaruan, the renamed
\nSinar Harapan daily that the government closed down in 1986.<\/p>\n
He advised the press to use the prevailing openness
\npositively.<\/p>\n
Abu Hartono, chairman of the ABRI faction in the House of
\nRepresentatives, said the revocation of the licenses had nothing
\nto do with political openness and therefore the latter should not
\nbe affected.<\/p>\n
He underlined that the three magazines had been warned
\nrepeatedly and therefore had the chance to make amends.<\/p>\n
However, there was no shortage of criticisms yesterday.<\/p>\n
The National Commission on Human Rights last night in a
\nsurprisingly blunt attack against the government described the
\nban as a \"setback\" to the democratization process.<\/p>\n
\"The government should be educative and transparent in its
\npolicy on the press development,\" commission chairman Ali Said
\nsaid in a press conference.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman Wahid of the Forum for Democracy said the
\ngovernment's measure to kill the weeklies without taking them to
\ncourt amounted to abuse of power.<\/p>\n
Stability<\/p>\n
\"The government said it was punishing the magazines because
\nthey undermined stability, but there is no evidence that the
\nstability has been shaken because of their reports,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He added that the government should lift the ban.<\/p>\n
Two groups which demonstrated outside the Ministry of
\nInformation office eventually merged into one. The first group
\nwas mostly made up of students while the second one marched from
\nthe office of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI).<\/p>\n
Some journalists came to join in the demonstrations, others
\ncame to cover the event, but eventually it became difficult to
\ndistinguish who belonged to which group.<\/p>\n
The noisy poster-waving demonstrators charged that the
\ngovernment meant to kill democracy in its infancy. Spearheading
\nthe protest that disrupted the peak-hour traffic were human right
\ncampaigners Adnan Buyung Nasution and Mulya Lubis.<\/p>\n
The demonstrators failed to see Minister of Information
\nHarmoko but presented a petition to his staff demanding that the
\ngovernment publicly announced why it has banned the magazines<\/p>\n
The decree revoking the licenses of the three magazines was
\nsigned by Director General for Press and Graphics Subrata on
\nbehalf of Harmoko. Neither men were available to answer the
\ncharges leveled against them by the protesters.<\/p>\n
The demonstrators were not happy at the low profile reception
\ngiven at the ministry and vowed to return today with an even
\nbigger rally.<\/p>\n
In the House of Representatives, Sri Bintang Pamungkas of the
\nUnited Development Party (PPP) was among the staunchest critics
\nof the government's media clampdown.<\/p>\n
Criticisms also came from numerous non-governmental
\norganizations.<\/p>\n
YLBHI said the closing down of the weeklies was illegal
\nbecause it ran counter with the 1945 constitution and the press
\nlaw which guarantee freedom of expression.<\/p>\n
The independent Prosperous Labor Union said the move means the
\nloss of 450 jobs at Tempo, 150 in Editor and another 150 in
\nDeTik. (pan\/pwn\/bsr\/jsk)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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