Civil society can be a threat to freedom of the press
Civil society can be a threat to freedom of the press
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Leo Wahyudi S., The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta
Mob violence against journalists coupled with questionable
reporting practices by some among members of the Jakarta press
corps are threatening Indonesia's freedom of the press, according
to two prominent journalists.
Aristides Katoppo of the daily Sinar Harapan and Goenawan
Mohamad of the weekly Tempo magazine said during a panel
discussion organized by the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Forum
here on Tuesday that the Indonesian media should continue
criticizing itself, and not take the current freedom of the press
for granted.
"The lack of respect for the rule of law weakens the freedom
of the press," said Aristides; he cited recent incidents in which
groups threatened reporters and occupied offices of the media
outlets they suspected of having printed or broadcast stories
they disagreed with.
The latest such episode took place just few months ago, when a
group invaded a newspaper office in Central Java in response to
stories about one of the political party's members.
"People who take the law into their own hands are the clear
and present danger against the media," said Aristides, adding
that those who feel aggrieved should instead take legal recourse
when dealing with such issues.
Aristides did not rule out the idea that the government may be
seeking to restrict press freedom by amending the current law on
the press, or issuing new regulations.
Goenawan, meanwhile, emphasized that the country's press
freedom is also threatened by the fact that many Indonesian
journalists themselves receive bribes from the very politicians
and business people on whom they report in exchange for favorable
coverage.
"If journalists cannot maintain their dignity, it will be
difficult to maintain press freedom," Goenawan said.
The popular anger resulting from such bribes, he added, would
merely offer politicians justification to enforce strict
censorship laws.
He said that the current press freedom that Indonesia enjoys
is far better than that in many other countries in the region
like Singapore or Malaysia. Indonesian media outlets, he said,
should be proud of these conditions, and try to maintain them.
"It would be ironic if the current government tries to derail
the current press freedom that we are enjoying by setting a new
regulation on censorship or licensing," Goenawan remarked.
He did not elaborate on what percentage of Indonesian
journalists take bribes from politicians or people in the
business community.
Meanwhile, two media observers faulted the Indonesia's press
for delving too much into issues, and neglecting the arena of
investigative reporting.
Maiysyak Johan of Judicial Watch said that many publications
pursue actual issues for their news coverage, but never explore
deeper into the news.
"The Indonesian press does not give society good and correct
information," Johan said. This phenomenon, he added, will only
lead society to dubious and confusing questions.
Bachtiar Aly, a member of Indonesia's Press Council, shared
Johan's opinion, saying that the country's press institutions
were weak in investigative reporting.
"The press does not offer enlightenment to people at large who
have all the right to know," Bachtiar said, underscoring the fact
that background issues of many subjects tend to be left ignored.