Court rules in Tempo's favor
Court rules in Tempo's favor
JAKARTA (JP): An extraordinary landmark was made in Indonesia's press history yesterday when the Jakarta State Administrative Court ruled in favor of the ex-Tempo employees and their lawsuits against Minister of Information Harmoko for the revocation of the magazine's publishing license.
"Based on evidence and facts gathered during the trials, we have decided that Minister of Information Harmoko's decision to revoke Tempo's publishing license was unlawful," Chief Judge Benjamin Mangkoedilaga said.
"We therefore order the Minister of Information to reissue the magazine's publishing license that he has revoked," he added.
He was accompanied by judges Sumaryono and Tengku Abdul Rahman Husni in yesterday's trial.
Republic
"We hope this decision will contribute something to this republic on the occasion of its 50th anniversary on Aug.17," Benjamin said after announcing the verdict.
The trial attracted a crowd of almost a hundred people, including noted political activist Ali Sadikin, stage actor W.S. Rendra, feminist Ratna Sarumpaet, law students, local and foreign reporters, as well former employees and journalists from the defunct Tempo.
Benjamin said that Minister of Information's Decree No. 123/1994 on the revocation of the magazine's publishing license contradicts the higher Press law.
The state administrative court yesterday made two separate but similar decisions on two lawsuits, one filed by Goenawan Mohamad, the magazine's former chief editor, and the other by its former staff members.
Tempo was closed down in June last year together with two other weeklies, Editor and DeTik. Tempo was faulted for its editorial content, while the banning of Editor and DeTik was attributed to administrative violations.
Benjamin said that the minister had been authoritarian in issuing the decree.
"The minister issued the decree without prior consultation with the Press Council," he said, adding that the minister had denied Tempo magazine the right to answer for its "mistakes".
Benjamin said the revocation of Tempo's publishing license amounted to the closing of the magazine.
The judges also ordered Harmoko to revoke the ministerial decree and to pay all the trial costs.
Tempo's former employees have since split up. One group of employees has obtained a license to publish a new magazine called Gatra, which is financed by timber tycoon Mohammad (Bob) Hasan. Others have taken part-time jobs at Jakarta-based newspapers, while some others are still waiting for their defunct magazine's publishing license to be reissued.
Editor's former staff members obtained a new publishing license to issue a weekly magazine, called Tiras, in a joint venture with Manpower Minister Abdul Latief's company.
Goenawan said he was surprised at the decision as he had been informed earlier in the morning that he and the magazine's former employees were sure to lose.
He praised the judges' courageous decision, saying it would restore the people's trust in judicial institutions.
"If the accused does not appeal, I am ready to republish Tempo based on the new opportunity provided by the judges' decision," he said after the trial.
Appeal
Meanwhile, head of the Legal Bureau of the Ministry of Information A. Waham Amir said that Harmoko would appeal the decision.
"The judges' decision is not final yet," Waham, who is also one of Harmoko's defense lawyers, said in a press release.
Todung Mulya Lubis, one of the plaintiffs' lawyers, concurred and pointed out that the accused could still appeal.
Regardless, he said that the judges' courageous decision is a milestone in Indonesian press history.
He stressed that the decision was not only a victory for all Tempo employees but also for the Indonesian press in general.
He denied suggestions that Tempo would suffer the same fate as the case of Hanoch Hebe Ohee, an Irianese who had won a decade- long land dispute with the Irian Jaya provincial administration, only to have the decision annulled by the Supreme Court. (imn)