Case against `Kompas' continues in court
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
After failing to find an out-of-court settlement to their dispute, lawyers of both businessman Marimutu Sinivasan and Kompas daily began on Monday to settle the libel case at the Central Jakarta District Court.
During the hearing, Marimutu's lawyers told the court that their client demanded US$151 million (approximately Rp 1.23 trillion) in compensation for dozens of articles published by the newspaper since 1999, which they claimed had tainted the businessman's image.
Last week, presiding judge Iskandar Tjake gave the defendant and the plaintiff a seven-day period to settle their case amicably before resuming the trial.
Marimutu's lawyers said more than 35 of the daily's articles and cartoons published between 1999 and April 2003 had tarnished the image of 18 companies affiliated to the businessman's giant PT Texmaco Group.
Those articles have hampered the group's ability to expand business and obtain loans, they added.
"The group never received special financial schemes from the government ... neither was there a bailout of Rp 16.5 trillion for the group's debts," one of the lawyers said, countering one of the articles.
Those articles were mostly critical of the alleged facilities received by the Texmaco group from former president Soeharto to expand their business empire ranging from engineering and chemicals to trucks.
Marimutu's lawyer Y.B. Purwaning M. Yanuar from the Otto Cornelis Kaligis and associates law firm argued that the articles defamed her client and had caused material losses of $150 million.
Marimutu also demanded that Kompas, its founder Jakob Oetama and chief editor Soeryopratomo pay another $1 million in nonmaterial losses.
The plaintiff demanded the daily publish a full-page apology in a number of national dailies, magazines and broadcast an apology on television, and that the court seize the defendant's assets for collateral.
Kompas lawyer Amir Syamsuddin said Marimutu's lawsuit was obscure because it was based on excerpts from news articles, none of which indicated the daily's editorial stance.
Moreover, he said, the Civil Code stipulates that a civil case on libel was invalid one year after its publication, and the plaintiff had never used their right to respond or to correct the articles.
Therefore, only three of the 35 articles, which were published in 2003, were valid in the case.
In a similar case, Marimutu also sued Tempo weekly and demanded the defendant pay a total $51 million in compensation .
The judges adjourned the hearing until next week to give both disputing parties the opportunity to settle the case out of court.