Rights Commission willing to help banned magazines<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP) The National Commission on Human Rights is
\nextending an offer of assistance to solve the national
\ncontroversy triggered by the closure of the Tempo, Editor and
\nDeTIK weeklies.<\/p>\n
The commission, led by its Secretary General Baharuddin Lopa,
\nmet with Tempo chief editor Goenawan Mohamad and a number of
\njournalists from the now-defunct magazine yesterday.<\/p>\n
Also present at the meeting were the Commission's members
\nMiriam Budiardjo, Marzuki Darusman, Albert Hasibuan, Roekmini and
\nCharles Himawan.<\/p>\n
Lopa proposed that the government and the press, especially
\nrepresentatives of the three ill-fated weeklies, open a dialog to
\nresolve the problems.<\/p>\n
Goenawan welcomed the suggestion, saying: \"I'm always open for
\na dialog, anytime.\"<\/p>\n
However, he pointed out that the banning of the three
\npublications concerned not only the press and the government but
\nalso readers.<\/p>\n
\"The people's right to information is also at stake,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Lopa said that the Commission was very concerned with the
\ngovernment's move to revoke the publishing licenses of the three
\nmagazines', saying that it had violated the right of expression
\nas guaranteed by the Constitution.<\/p>\n
He also questioned the legal basis of the government's
\ndecision to close down the publications. He said the decree from
\nthe ministry of information contradicted higher laws, especially
\nthe 1982 press law which rejects press censorship.<\/p>\n
Acknowledgement<\/p>\n
However, he acknowledged that the government has the freedom
\nto take any action it deems necessary to safeguard the existence
\nof the state whenever it is in jeopardy.<\/p>\n
However, he did not say if he thought the national stability
\nwas at risk when the government clamped down on the media.<\/p>\n
No street protests against the press bans were staged in
\nJakarta yesterday. However, some 150 students from various
\nuniversities in Bandung staged a protest in the town's Gasibu
\nsquare Thursday evening.<\/p>\n
They held a mass prayer and then released dozens of balloons
\ninto the air as a sign of their concern over the revocation of
\nthe publishing licenses of the three news magazines.<\/p>\n
\"Because we do not know what else to do to make our protests
\nheard, we choose this peaceful way,\" said Andri, a student of the
\nParahyangan University.<\/p>\n
A number of journalists, community leaders and common people
\nfrom East Timor, including Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo,
\nalso expressed their deep concern over the press bans in a
\nstatement yesterday, a copy of which was made available to The
\nJakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Similar expressions of concern also came from the Women Group
\nfor Press Freedom and the Japanese NGO Network on Indonesia. (11)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rights-commission-willing-to-help-banned-magazines-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}