AJI celebrates anniversary in simple, solemn manner

JAKARTA (JP): The Independent Journalist Association (AJI), which is not recognized by the government, celebrated its first anniversary yesterday in a simple, solemn manner.

The celebration was marked by dozens of the association's members gathering at the Central Jakarta District Court an hour before the trial of their three comrades.

The three activists, Ahmad Taufik, Eko Maryadi and Danang Kukuh Wardoyo, are currently under the court's custody on charges of sowing hatred and hostility among the public and against the government.

According to Article 154 of the Criminal Code, the three face a maximum of seven years in jail if found guilty.

Prosecutor T.S. Limbong, who indicted both Ahmad and Eko in the preliminary trial, charged that the two defendants were engaged in public acts by expressing hostility, enmity and insults against the government. He also said that the two have used the press for their own and the group's interests, and acted against the law.

Meanwhile prosecutor Meity Joseph, who pressed the charges on Danang, accused him of expressing hatred against the government in public.

Ahmad, chairman of the association's presidium, said in yesterday's celebration that the association would remain faithful to the Sirnagalih Declaration they signed last year on the struggle for press freedom.

"Nothing can stop us from our struggle for Indonesian press freedom," he said.

The celebration was also attended by a number of representatives of non-governmental organizations, including the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, the Indonesian Environmental Forum and the Pijar Foundation.

The unrecognized journalists association was established on Aug. 7, 1994, following the closing of the three news weeklies Tempo, Editor, and DeTik, in June of the same year.

About 70 journalists signed the Sirnagalih Declaration that led to the establishment of the association. Officials of the government-backed Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) refute the declaration because it includes a passage denying PWI has the sole right to represent journalists.

Thirteen members of the association have been kicked out of the PWI, including Goenawan Mohamad and Fikri Jufri, the former chief editor and former acting chief editor of Tempo respectively.(imn)