Tempo, DeTIK, Editor lose their licenses<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Three major news magazines, Tempo, Editor and
\nDeTIK, lost their publishing licenses at the same time yesterday
\nfor repeatedly ignoring the government's warnings about the way
\nthey reported news events and managed their operation.<\/p>\n
Director General for Press and Graphics Subrata announced the
\ngovernment's decision to revoke their licenses at a hastily
\nconvened press conference at his office.<\/p>\n
Subrata said he signed the letters revoking the licenses on
\nbehalf of Minister of Information Harmoko, and these were
\npresented to the proprietors of the three magazines yesterday
\nafternoon.<\/p>\n
The move was based on a 1984 decree by the Minister of
\nInformation which regulates the issuance of press publishing
\nlicenses, more popularly known as SIUPP.<\/p>\n
The revocation of the licenses is almost the same as closing
\nthe organizations down; they can only be revived under very
\nstrict government terms, including changes in management and
\neditorial boards. They also have to use new names.<\/p>\n
Tempo, the oldest of the three, was faulted for the way it had
\nbeen writing its news recently, Subrata said, without making any
\nspecific references to articles or issues.<\/p>\n
However, when asked if the decision was based on Tempo's
\ncoverage of the government's procurement of German warships, he
\ndid not deny it.<\/p>\n
Subrata said Tempo had been issued six written warnings,
\nincluding three stern ones, and no less than 33 verbal warnings
\nsince it had been allowed to reappear in 1982 after it was
\ntemporarily closed for the way it reported the general election.<\/p>\n
He also recalled in 1982, Tempo's proprietors pledged to help
\nmaintain national stability and public order and said they would
\nrefrain from reporting stories that were divisive. According to
\nSubrata, they also pledged to maintain the good name and
\nintegrity of the government and the national leadership.<\/p>\n
National stability<\/p>\n
\"We constantly reminded them every time we convened a meeting
\nwith chief editors,\" Subrata said.<\/p>\n
\"We've been forced to take this step for the sake of the
\ndevelopment of a free, healthy and responsible press, and in the
\nname of national stability,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Tempo first hit the streets in 1971 and has since become the
\nnation's leading weekly magazine, providing insightful reports
\nand analysis of current events.<\/p>\n
Editor and DeTIK were faulted for their management which the
\ngovernment said violated the terms of their SIUPP.<\/p>\n
According to Subrata, Editor, which was founded in 1987 mostly
\nby former Tempo journalists, since 1989 has been managed by
\npeople entirely different from those stipulated in the SIUPP.<\/p>\n
By regulation, the magazine had to notify the changes in the
\ntop three management posts (chief editor, publisher and general
\nmanager) to the government within three months.<\/p>\n
They too had been given repeated warnings, Subrata said.<\/p>\n
DeTIK is the newest of the three and the most aggressive in
\ntheir reporting of current events. Some even considered it to be
\nthe vanguard of the political openness and press freedom.<\/p>\n
Subrata said DeTIK' had moved away from its original mission,
\nas stipulated in its SIUPP issued in 1986, which was to report on
\ndetective and criminal news.<\/p>\n
Since 1993, the magazine changed its format into a tabloid and
\nhas been reporting general and political news, according to
\nSubrata. Its proprietors have been repeatedly warned and told to
\ngo back to its old format and mission, he added.<\/p>\n
Subrata said that in all three cases, all proper procedures
\nwere observed by the government, including the written and verbal
\nwarnings. He also said the Press Council, the industry's
\nwatchdog, had been consulted.<\/p>\n
The move came less than two weeks after President Soeharto
\nmade harsh remarks to the effect that some newspapers and
\nmagazines had been fanning the controversy over the government's
\npurchase of warships from Germany to the point of creating
\ninstability.<\/p>\n
Not concerned<\/p>\n
Minister of Information Harmoko had since warned that the
\ngovernment was reviewing possible actions against some of the
\npublications which had violated the code of ethics.<\/p>\n
For many in media circles, yesterday's decision did not come
\nas a surprise.<\/p>\n
In its last edition, which came out yesterday, DeTIK's Letter
\nfrom the Editor column was typed in white with a black
\nbackground. It pledged its allegiance to the state and concluded
\n\"We will continue to think independently.\"<\/p>\n
During the brief question and answer session yesterday,
\nSubrata said the questions of the employees and journalists of
\nthe three magazines had been discussed with their proprietors.<\/p>\n
When asked if the government was not concerned that its
\ndecision could dent its image abroad, he replied: \"Clearly
\nnational interest should come first.\"<\/p>\n
The 1984 ministerial decree, which empowered the Minister of
\nInformation to revoke the SIUPP, has been the subject of
\ncontroversy with many people in the press industry saying that it
\nruns counter to the 1982 Press Law which guarantees press
\nfreedom.<\/p>\n
Two Jakarta-based newspapers, respectively Sinar Harapan and
\nPrioritas, were among the first victims of the 1984 decree, in
\n1986 and 1987 respectively. They subsequently resurfaced under
\nnew managements as Suara Pembaruan and Media Indonesia.<\/p>\n
In 1990, the Jakarta-based weekly Monitor magazine lost its
\nlicense and its chief editor, Arswendo Atmowiloto, was
\nsubsequently sent to jail. (05\/emb)<\/p>",
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