Cirebon vows to rescind press control bylaw
Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Cirebon
Bowing to mounting pressure to scrap a new bylaw on access to information, which many feared would jeopardize press freedom, Cirebon Regent Sutisna apologized and vowed on Friday to review the ruling.
He made the promise during a meeting with around 40 local journalists from the print and electronic media, who staged a peaceful protest at the regency offices in Cirebon, West Java.
"I had no intention of damaging press freedom. I beg your pardon if the bylaw that we issued could lead to that impression. We also promise to revise it," Sutisna told the protesters.
Maskub Buntoro, speaker of the regency's legislative council, put his weight behind the calls to revoke Bylaw No. 79/2001 as part of an effort to promote press freedom in Cirebon.
"I am among those who are really aware that press freedom is very important. How could I want to curb press freedom? That's impossible. If the bylaw potentially threatens press freedom, we will certainly revise it," he said in response to accusations that the council speaker was also responsible for the issuance of the ruling.
Sutisna and Maskub also pledged to include representatives of journalists in the process of revising the much-reviled bylaw.
The bylaw, drafted by the local information office, was issued in April 2001 by the regent but was not made public despite having been approved by the council on Nov. 22 last year.
It stipulates that the Cirebon administration has the power to regulate all kinds of information dissemination activities, including those conducted by the print and electronic media.
Sutisna went further by issuing a decree in April 2002 to establish a Regional Information Order Control Team (TPID) to carry out this function on behalf of the local administration. The team members included military and police officers, and government officials.
During Friday's protest, the journalists demanded the bylaw be revoked as it restricted press freedom, and slammed the setting- up of the TPID as a repressive move to stifle the mass media.
The protest was also aimed at putting pressure on the local legislative council to help push for a repeal of the bylaw.
The protest was held as Maskub, Sutisna and other senior local government officials were attending a ceremony to mark a National Children's Day celebration in the regency office's auditorium.
The rally received the backing of the Cirebon branches of the Indonesian Journalists' Association (PWI) and the Indonesian Association of National Private Radio Stations (PRSSNI).
"We support the action by our fellow journalists here. The move should be regarded as the responsibility of press workers to help guarantee the people's right to freely access information," said Cirebon's PWI chairman Rohlani Mawardi, who was accompanied by the local PRSSNI branch chairman Syaiful Badar.
"So what we are doing is within the meaning of struggling for the people's basic right to have access to information," Rohlani added.
Similar protests against press control were previously held on Wednesday and Thursday.