A not-so-free press

If freedom of expression vanishes, then we no longer have anything to show as a result of the reform movement. We will be back in the days when the public learnt to read between the lines of reports -- if at all they could be published. This grim prospect arose on Saturday, when a protest against a cover story of Tempo magazine involved violence and intimidation.

The various participants in Monday's rally, and signatories of statements representing a wide range of organizations issued right after the incident, showed that it was not merely seen an expression of disappointment against a media report or even an assault against the press community alone -- it was taken as a direct attack against the seeds of democracy in this country.

On Saturday at noon some 200 people from the Artha Graha business group and other supporters of businessman Tomy Winata protested against Tempo magazine following its report in Edition 9 on March 3 on indications of his business interests -- a proposal to renovate the Tanah Abang market, recently destroyed by fire. The report also published Tomy's denial.

The protest against Tempo was perfectly legal but the intimidation and violence involved was intolerable. Journalists have said they continued to try to work while the protesters stayed at the office with the police merely standing by.

Meanwhile, Tomy's representatives argued heatedly with editors, and after failing to force them to reveal their source, said negotiations should continue at the police station "because otherwise we cannot say what might happen."

They also hurled insults at the journalists and one of them was injured when one of the visitors hurled a wooden tissue box at them.

But at the police station witnesses said the chief editor Bambang Harymurti and another journalist were hit in the presence of the police -- who have so far blithely said that they will investigate if Tempo files a report.

Any intimidation, moreover violence, against the press could lead to self censorship which then becomes detrimental to all, as the press no longer works freely but under duress.

Perpetrators of such acts also face penalties as stated in Press Law No. 40 1999, which guarantees protection for the press. Any attempt to prevent the media from doing its job is punishable by a maximum of two years in prison, or a fine of Rp 500 million.

Saturday's incident is intolerable also because the Artha Graha Group of Tomy Winata had already sent a warning (somasi) received by chief editor Bambang Harymurti on Friday, after which he and Tempo editors had agreed to either a dialog or legal recourse to settle the matter.

Artha Graha has accused Tempo of "character assassination" and "journalistic hoodlumism" in its latest press release, apparently in response to numerous statements condemning the "hoodlumism" in Saturday's incident.

What the mobs missed is that Tempo is not just another publication here; even before it fell victim to the 1994 banning of three publications, it had become one of the icons of the press struggle. And while many are critical of the press these days, no one condones the New Order style of intimidation and violence.

As is standard procedure among the press, any mistake on the part of Tempo must be dealt with immediately, and if necessary, a correction and apology must be published at the first opportunity. However sources and other parties related to the reports clearly have the right of reply, and can also sue the media.

Hardly anyone is happy with the law nowadays but the alternative such as experienced by Tempo signals a return of the days when the media worked under vague rules that threatened its closure at any time.

We fear that if intimidation of journalists in broad daylight in the heart of the nation's capital can occur openly and freely, then the threat to press workers in the regions would be far greater -- as proven by earlier cases of violence toward journalists, such as the death of Yogyakarta journalist Muhammad Fuad Syafrudin in 1996 -- whose killer still walks free.

The press today is an industry, which would mean that among its priorities are its continued survival, and if necessary, compromise in the face of threats. However, today the public is also more demanding in its right to know, and it expects this demand to be met by the press.

Therefore, instead of succeeding in cowering journalists, the press and the wider public now rally behind Tempo journalists to encourage them -- and other journalists -- to work as usual, as professionally as possible without being influenced by pressure from powerful political and business interests.