'Blow to democracy'
Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
International and domestic observers lambasted on Thursday the guilty verdict against Tempo magazine's chief editor Bambang Harymurti and called it a setback for the country's press freedom and democracy.
The chief editor of leading daily Kompas, Suryopratomo, said he feared the defamation verdict and one-year sentence would set bad precedent for criminalization of the press.
"We worry that in the future all mistakes committed by the media will be perceived as errors by design that are driven by hatred or ill will," he said.
Bambang was found guilty of defaming businessman Tomy Winata in an article that appeared in the March 3-9, 2003 edition of the magazine. The article questioned whether there was a link between Tomy and the fire that razed the Tanah Abang textile market in Central Jakarta.
Fellow defendants, Tempo journalists Ahmad Taufik and Iskandar Ali Thamrin, were acquitted on the grounds that they were not responsible for the publication of the "defamatory" article.
Press Council senior member Sabam Leo Batubara said the court ruling proved there was unfairness and inconsistency in the interpretation of the country's law.
"Just a couple of days ago, under the same law, the Jakarta High Court overturned the district court's verdict against Tempo for an unsubstantiated report and defamation. Today, the court here did something completely different. Where is the fairness then?" wondered Sabam.
He was referring to a civil lawsuit filed by Tomy on the same matter.
The international community, which had closely followed the trial of Bambang and his reporters, likened the verdict to a return to dictatorship.
The president of International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Christopher Warren, said the verdict continued "a deeply disturbing trend mirroring the darkest days of the Soeharto regime for media freedom in Indonesia."
"This is a sad day for press freedom in Indonesia. No journalist should ever be jailed for defamation," Warren said.
IFJ legal expert James Nolan said the verdict had the potential for a chilling effect on press freedom by hampering journalism on a day-to-day basis.
United States Embassy press attache M. Max Kwak told The Jakarta Post he was delighted by the acquittal of Taufik and Iskandar, but was "saddened" by the conviction of Bambang.
"While it is the responsibility of the Indonesian court to rule on the case before them in accordance with the Indonesian laws, we have concern about the legal process that leads to the imprisonment of professional journalists and creates circumstances that could damage Indonesia's democracy," said Kwak.
Separately, the European Union said in its statement it would continue monitoring carefully the trials during the appeal process.
"The EU regards press freedom and the freedom of information as crucial democratic values," it said.
Suryopratomo, however, said the verdict should teach the national media a lesson to improve its professionalism.
Kompas, he said, now required all its reporters to verify all facts and stick to accepted standards.
"We are no longer just required to cover both sides, but also to verify facts, which is not easy as most of our journalists are not used to it," he said.
Hundreds of people who were divided into supporters of Tempo and Tomy thronged the street in front of the court on Jl. Gadjah Mada during the hearing, singing songs and carrying signs, mostly cheering for their side.