Armed Forces optimistic about progress with media

Armed Forces optimistic about progress with media

JAKARTA (JP): A military officer says the former dictum of a
"free and responsible press" has changed to "a press that is free
and democratic".

Brig. Gen. Sudrajat said the shift suggested the media are no
longer responsible to the government but have obligations to the
people.

While it was now often difficult to differentiate editorial
policy and hard news, government liberalization within the media
would eventually "attain a high degree of credibility in the eyes
of the readers", he said.

The revoking of press licenses, leading to the closure of
media organizations, was justified in the past as the definition
of a free and responsible press had different associations then.

Sudrajat was speaking on the last day of a two-day seminar
held on the media and the government and was sitting in for Lt.
Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Armed Forces (ABRI) Chief of
Territorial Affairs.

The event, opened on Tuesday by President B.J. Habibie, was
organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Minister of Information Muhammad Yunus, a lieutenant general,
has championed press freedom with the lifting of a rule enabling
the revocation of media licenses.

Formerly, the military was often cited by press members as a
key censoring body.

The secretary-general of the Association of Newspaper
Publishers, S. Leo Batubara, emphasized that the media had failed
in the past to act as a early warning system to those who abused
power. He urged the House of Representatives to pass a new media
law, drafted by the Indonesian press society, of which he is a
member.

The draft bill ensures media access to information including
government sources.

Chairman of the Alliance of Independent Journalists, Lukas
Luwarso, recalled the irony of the appeal by certain members of
the public, who, fearing press freedom "which has only been
experienced for 10 months", demanded the government issue a
ruling on the media.

He said that with some 22 professional media bodies in
existence, the associations should perform an internal watchdog
role. He warned that if this function was neglected, in response
to "pure or engineered" complaints from the public, rules would
be drafted to curb press freedom.

Demonstrations have been staged protesting media
organizations, which speakers said indicated that the public has
yet to be receptive and tolerant of diverse opinions.

A statement from the Minister of Information said the media
has to reflect democratic values itself before it can motivate
democracy among the public.

Lukas cited three conditions of media freedom and democracy:
first, public awareness that it was people who had sovereignty
instead of the government; second, an opinion's truth was
relative -- an understanding which would lead to tolerance of
other views; and third "a government which can restrain itself
against ruling over everything and one which is resilient enough
to receive criticism". (anr)