Ban to cover council's meeting upsets reporters

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Dozens of reporters lodged a protest over the City Council's ban on coverage of Friday's closed-door plenary session about the mechanism to be used in Jakarta's gubernatorial and vice gubernatorial election for the 2002-2007 term.

In a written statement signed by over 25 reporters covering the City Hall and City Council, reporters said that the City Council's stance was against the spirit of openness and violated Law No. 40/1999 on freedom of the press.

"It violates the law as they have blocked public access to information," said Sutiyono, coordinator of the City Hall and City Council reporters, reading the statement.

The statement was then handed over to City Council legislators through a security officer guarding the door of plenary session room.

A number of reporters considered taking the case to the police.

Sutiyono said that the decision to hold a closed-door session could tarnish the credibility and integrity of the City Council amid allegations of bribery and horse trading in the election process.

"We hope that it will be the last incident in the City Council," he added.

A reliable source said that the decision to hold a closed meeting was made at a leadership meeting organized before Friday's plenary session.

The source said the closed meeting was proposed by councillors from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), the Golkar Party, the United development Party (PPP) and the Unity and Justice Party (PKP).

A number of reporters who had been in the plenary session room earlier in the day were expelled by security guards seconds after the City Council's decision (to close the meeting to reporters) was announced.

Friday's session finally recommended that the councillors should write down the names of their candidates or put a cross on the ballot papers next to their name in the Sept. 11 gubernatorial and vice gubernatorial election.