Court says not a chance for Press Law
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A panel of judges at the Central Jakarta District Court turned down a proposal from the Tempo magazine legal team to use the Press Council as mediator in negotiations with the Pemuda Panca Marga (PPM) group, in the two parties' legal dispute.
The group has filed a civil suit against Tempo for running an allegedly libelous statement in its June 2, 2003, edition and demanded the weekly pay a whopping Rp 250 billion (US$29.76 million) in compensation.
In Thursday's hearing, the judges ordered the opposing parties to reach an amicable settlement within 30 working days and appointed Said Faisal of the National Mediation Center (PMN) as mediator under Supreme Court supervision, complying with PPM's request.
Tempo defense lawyers had earlier proposed Press Council chairman Ichlasul Amal and member Sabam Leo Batubara as mediators, arguing the two were competent to settle the dispute.
However, the judges rejected the proposal and asserted that individuals from the Press Council would have a biased view on the case.
"We have singled out those who are neutral and professional," presiding judge Mulyani said in his ruling, pointing to Supreme Court circular no. 2/2002 on out-of-court settlements as the basis for his decision.
Tempo lawyers responded that although they welcomed it, they declined to pay the costs of mediation.
"The plaintiffs should cover the costs because their proposal was approved by the panel of judges," lawyer Azas Tigor Nainggolan told The Jakarta Post.
He also doubted that the mediation would be fruitful as the court-appointed mediator might not have enough experience in resolving media-related cases.
Press Law No. 40/1999 stipulates that the Press Council should act as sole mediator in all cases involving the media.
Legal experts also warned that no court could force disputing parties to accept PMN, established only in 2003, as mediator, and instead, should encourage the parties to agree on a mediator.
Tempo was accused of publishing a libelous statement on PPM, that it was allegedly involved in terrorizing the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), in an article titled Terror on Kontras.
In the article, the weekly said that PPM members, who attacked the Kontras office on May 27, 2003, were "of a baser dignity", and described them elsewhere as a "gang" and "children of former soldiers".
PPM had already agreed to make peace with the weekly but it inexplicably filed a civil suit on Dec. 22, 2003.
Besides the compensation, Tempo was also required to run a public apology in the national media for three consecutive days. In the suit, PPM also asked the court to revoke Tempo's publication license for at least two years.
Tempo media group is currently facing six other legal disputes, five with Tomy Winata and another with Azni Thalib Ch.
The media group lost two cases against Tomy and Texmaco group owner Marimutu Sinivasan and won another against Sinivasan. Another civil suit by Tomy was rejected by the court.