'Action on 'D&R' editor unreasonable'

'Action on 'D&R' editor unreasonable'

JAKARTA (JP): Communication expert M. Budyatna criticized the
Indonesian Journalists' Association yesterday for revoking its
recommendation for the editor of D&R magazine, thus threatening
the publication with closure.

Budyatna, who is dean of the University of Indonesia's School
of Social and Political Sciences, said the reasons cited for the
withdrawal were "unreasonable" and might merely be an effort to
conceal that the government had been threatened by the magazine's
bold reports.

"I suspect that the magazine has revealed 'undesirable'
information from the government's point of view," he told The
Jakarta Post yesterday.

Goesti Emran, the magazine's chief editor, had his license to
edit withdrawn by the association Tuesday.

Tarman Azzam, head of the association's Jakarta branch, said
the association decided to cancel its recommendation for Goesti
Emran because the latter employed members of the unrecognized
Alliance of Independent Journalists. Five members of the alliance
also happened to be ex-employees of Tempo, a prestigious weekly
banned in 1994 by the government.

Azzam said the association had, prior to the cancellation,
given several verbal warnings and two strong written warnings,
but Emran had failed to respond.

Azzam is also editor of the afternoon daily Harian Terbit,
part of the Pos Kota group of newspapers owned by Minister of
Information Harmoko, who has responsibility for approving
publishing licenses.

Under the press laws, a newspaper or publication cannot be
printed unless its editor is approved by the association.

Emran could not be reached for comments yesterday.

The weekly D&R has published a number of hard-hitting
political stories and interviews in its 10 issues since it first
appeared three months ago.

Budyatna admitted that he had read only one edition of the
magazine, which happened to be the issue featuring a report on
the aftermath of the July 27 riots. "The magazine's coverage
contains 'daring' information that has not been published
elsewhere," Budyatna said.

Three publications -- Tempo, DeTik and Editor -- were banned
in June 1994. An attempt to relaunch DeTik as Simponi in October
1994 failed after only one issue was published when the
association withdrew its recommendation of the tabloid's editor-
in-chief.

Harmoko said he had yet to be informed about the revocation of
the association's recommendation. "If the magazine does not
comply with the laws, then it could face sanctions," he said,
without elaborating. (14/imn)