PWI asserts its claim as the only body of journalists<\/p>\n
MAGELANG, Central Java (JP): The Association of Indonesian
\nJournalists (PWI) claims to be the profession's only
\norganization, with chairman Sofjan Lubis yesterday appealing to
\nall journalists to join for their own protection.<\/p>\n
\"There is no other journalist association besides PWI,\" said
\nSofjan, who was here to attend a reception marking National Press
\nDay.<\/p>\n
He said that the recent arrests of three journalists by police
\nin Jakarta for publishing a clandestine magazine had been
\nparticularly awkward for his organization because they were not
\nmembers. \"PWI has nothing to do with them. If they belonged to
\nPWI, they would get protection because the law guarantees that
\neach member is entitled to legal protection.\"<\/p>\n
He warned that several other journalists associated with the
\noffensive publication outside of Jakarta may also be arrested by
\nthe authorities.<\/p>\n
His appeal and warning came after the Jakarta chapter of the
\nassociation sacked 13 of its members from the organization for
\ntheir participation in the Alliance of Independent Journalists
\n(AJI), which also published the periodical found offensive by the
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
Sofjan, who is chief editor of the Jakarta-based Pos Kota
\ndaily, asked PWI members to stay calm and avoid getting trapped
\nby unfounded rumors which have recently been emerging.<\/p>\n
Sofjan also asked the public to be open to journalists \"so
\neveryone can do their job well\".<\/p>\n
He said that if government officials consider certain news
\nreports to be unbalanced or inaccurate, they should not
\nimmediately blame journalists. \"Maybe, (the inaccuracy) is caused
\nby the official's own fault of being too closed or providing
\ninadequate information,\" he explained.<\/p>\n
He also asked journalists to rely not only on their profession
\nbut on artistic values as well. \"Journalists should be able to
\nwork well with the public and the government and become good
\nresearchers, collectors, selectors and presenters of news.\"<\/p>\n
On Sunday, Sofjan joined in the current fray against preman,
\nthe Indonesian term for hoodlums, particularly those who may have
\ninfiltrated the journalistic profession.<\/p>\n
He was quoted by Antara news agency as saying in Surabaya,
\nEast Java, that he would personally \"whack\" journalists who use
\ntheir power to intimidate, threaten or blackmail people. \"If we
\nhave solid evidence of behavior like that... let us beat them up
\ntogether,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He considered such misconduct a \"disgrace to PWI\".<\/p>\n
PWI would prevent its members from engaging in such behavior,
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
He was convinced, however, that individuals with such an
\nattitude only claim to be journalists. \"Our (real) journalists
\nhave been taught about the ethics of journalism.\" (har\/pwn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pwi-asserts-its-claim-as-the-only-body-of-journalists-1447893297",
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