'Tempo' wins case against PPM<\/p>\n
Urip Hudiono and Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Central Jakarta District Court dismissed on Wednesday a
\nlawsuit filed by youth organization Pemuda Panca Marga (PPM)
\nagainst Tempo magazine.<\/p>\n
In his ruling, presiding judge Mulyani rejected two legal
\narguments from Tempo lawyers that the plaintiff was improperly
\nrepresented by their lawyers in their civil lawsuit against the
\nweekly and that the PPM's allegations against the defendants --
\nchief editor Bambang Harymurti, journalist Ahmad Taufik and
\npublisher PT Tempo Inti Media -- were overstated.<\/p>\n
The judges agreed with Tempo's argument that the allegations
\nwere vague and obscure.<\/p>\n
"Their vagueness is illustrated by the fact that the plaintiff
\ncharged the defendant using both Articles 1365 and 1372 of the
\nCivil Code, when the articles are for different matters," said
\nMulyani, who was accompanied by judges Agus Subroto and Binsar
\nSiregar.<\/p>\n
Article 1365 stipulates punitive damages for a felonious act,
\nwhile Article 1372 deals with slander.<\/p>\n
Since the charges were unclear, Mulyani said they were
\nunacceptable and the judges had no need even to enquire about the
\ncase's legal substance.<\/p>\n
The PPM accused Tempo of publishing a libelous statement in an
\narticle titled Terror on Kontras, in the weekly's June 2, 2003
\nedition. In the article, the weekly said that PPM members, who
\nattacked the office of the Commission for Missing Persons and
\nVictims of Violence (Kontras) on May 27, 2003, were "of a baser
\ndignity", and described them elsewhere as a "gang" and "children
\nof former soldiers".<\/p>\n
The PPM initially agreed to make peace with the weekly, but
\ninexplicably filed a civil suit on Dec. 22, 2003.<\/p>\n
The PPM had demanded the weekly pay a whopping Rp 250 billion
\n(US$ 27.17 million) in damages and run a public apology in
\nnational media for three consecutive days. The group had also
\nasked the court to revoke Tempo's publication license for at
\nleast two years.<\/p>\n
Tempo lawyer Azas Tigor Nainggolan considered the verdict a
\nsign that press freedom would prevail in the country.<\/p>\n
PPM lawyer Abdul Salam, meanwhile, said his client would use
\nthe 14 days given by the court to consider whether they would
\nappeal or not.<\/p>\n
Separately, Bambang Harymurti reported Central Jakarta Mayor
\nHosea Petra Lumbun to the National Police for giving false
\ntestimony during the trial for a separate libel suit filed by
\nwell-connected businessman Tomy Winata against the weekly. The
\nmayor said he was never interviewed by Tempo.<\/p>\n
Bambang, who was accompanied by lawyer Darwin Aritonang, said
\nTempo reporters Indra Darmawan and Juli Hantoro had conducted the
\ninterview with the mayor. As evidence, Tempo presented a print-
\nout from state telecommunications company PT Telkom, showing a
\ntelephone call made from the weekly's office to Hosea's cellular
\nphone.<\/p>\n
Bambang said Lumbun had violated Article 242(2) of the
\nCriminal Code for perjury, which carries a maximum sentence of
\nnine years in prison.<\/p>\n
However, the officers who received the report asked Bambang to
\nfile the report with the Central Jakarta Police instead, since
\nthe location of the incident was within that precinct's
\njurisdiction.<\/p>",
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