'Tempo' on trial<\/p>\n
Bambang Harymurti, the chief editor of Tempo, will appear in
\nJakarta court tomorrow (today), together with two of his staff,
\nto find out if they face jail terms for publishing an article
\nthat upset a wealthy businessman renowned for his strong
\npolitical connections to the country's power brokers.<\/p>\n
It's a case that threatens to deal a chilling blow to the
\nfuture of press freedom in a nation still emerging from the
\ncensorship of the Soeharto years. It has already drawn widespread
\ndomestic and international attention. Representatives from the
\nU.S. and other foreign embassies will be at tomorrow's (today's)
\nhearing. Even the two candidates in Monday's final round of
\nballoting in Indonesia's presidential election have belatedly
\nadded their voices to the growing chorus of concern.<\/p>\n
Now we don't know enough to vouch for the accuracy of every
\ndetail in the articles in question, which revealed \"rumors\" about
\nthe business dealings of prominent entrepreneur Tomy Winata. But
\nwe do know that Indonesia's 1999 Press Law offers a perfectly
\nadequate route for those believe they've been the victim of
\ninaccurate reporting to seek redress - without the need to send
\nanyone to jail.<\/p>\n
But that wasn't enough for the government of President
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri, which chose to take up the cudgels on the
\nwell-connected businessman's behalf. Spurning a law that protects
\npress freedom, the government instead laid criminal charges
\ncarrying a maximum sentence of 10 years, although prosecutors
\nhave so far confined themselves to demanding a two-year term.<\/p>\n
Incredibly, Mr. Bambang and his two colleagues have been
\ncharged not only with criminal libel but also with \"inciting
\npublic unrest.\" That's because after the article appeared their
\noffices were attacked by Mr. Winata's supporters. Police failed
\nto protect Tempo, and a Jakarta court later acquitted one of the
\nringleaders on charges of assault.<\/p>\n
Ms. Megawati's three years in office have been marred by a
\nseries of attacks on freedom of expression, including at least 15
\nother defamation cases, four of them involving criminal charges.
\nThat included the prosecution of a tabloid newspaper for a series
\nof particularly strong headlines criticizing the president.<\/p>\n
-- The Asian Wall Street Journal, Hong Kong<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/tempo-on-trial-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }