Chipping away at press freedom

Chipping away at press freedom

Is the Indonesian government in favor of freedom of the press?
Is it going to uphold it in future? I ask because state-owned
television network TVRI recently seems to be doing its utmost to
create a public perception that "freedom of the press is a bad
thing".

They have treated us to talk shows where the speakers have had
one thing in common -- their antipress freedom views. They have
told us that press freedom is not culturally appropriate for this
country, that it incites violence, that the people are not ready
for it, etc., the standard arguments used by regimes the world
over for cracking down on the press. Incredibly, some speakers
have even tried to pin responsibility for recent violence on the
press alone. Although they all have the right to express their
views, the sheer uniformity of their condemnation of the press
seems more than just coincidence.

This all comes at a time when TVRI itself seems to be losing
the relative independence it has recently enjoyed (one example of
many was the recent unbalanced talk show in which Mrs. Murdaya
actually blamed the students for getting shot). Even more
worryingly, SCTV, normally a champion of objective reporting,
seems to be turning gradually into a government mouthpiece. This
was particularly apparent following Black Friday, where Liputan 6
consistently reinforced the government's views of the treason
charges, while practically ignoring the very real suffering of
the victims of the Semanggi tragedy.

So, where does the government stand? Does it want freedom of
speech to thrive in the Indonesian press, or are its real views
being aired through TVRI? Indeed, is it already beginning to
erode press freedom, and using TVRI to ready the public for
further limitations in future?

ANDREW TRIGG

Jakarta