Defunct `Tempo' journalists demanding own license

JAKARTA (JP): A number of former journalists of the defunct Tempo weekly called on the government yesterday to consider giving them a new publishing license for the sake of democracy.

The journalists, who refused to join another group of fellow former-journalists who had established a new magazine called Gatra, said that by rendering a new publishing license, or SIUPP, the government would give true meaning to Indonesia's unique "Pancasila Democracy".

This statement, made available to The Jakarta Post yesterday, was made by 38 former Tempo journalists.

The statement came as a response to comments by Director General of Press and Graphics Subrata, who, at the launching of Gatra last week, suggested for both groups of ex-Tempo journalists to work together for Gatra, to avoid "conflicts of interests" and "having a Tempo A and Tempo B".

"We think that the granting of a SIUPP to journalists who refuse to join Gatra would reflect the diversity of opinion, which is an actual form of the Pancasila Democracy," the journalists said.

They also claimed that there was no such thing as "Tempo A" or "Tempo B", because Gatra was not identical to Tempo.

"Tempo is still a magazine which is having a problem with its SIUPP," they said.

Forty-four former Tempo journalists have sued Minister of Information Harmoko for banning their magazine and court trials have proceeded at the Jakarta State Administrative Court.

When the government revoked Tempo's SIUPP last June for what it considered were editorial flaws, journalists of the magazine began applying for a new license, to start a new magazine.

Later on, however, they were divided into two groups, one that was willing to join PT Era Media Informasi, owned by timber tycoon Mohammad (Bob) Hasan, which quickly received a new SIUPP to publish Gatra, while the other camp is insisting on a license of its own.

The second group has applied for a new SIUPP but were told to make several non-technical changes to its proposal, including removing the word "Tempo" from the name of the employees' foundation they represent and dropping the name of Tempo's former chief editor Goenawan Mohamad from the list of the foundation's board of supervisors.

According to their statement, the changes were currently in the process of being done. However, if in the end their request for a SIUPP is rejected, they demand a clear explanation.

"There are obviously different motivations which caused former Tempo journalists to join or refuse Gatra. Whatever the differences are, they must be respected in this atmosphere of democracy," the statement read.

They said the number of former Tempo employees joining Gatra, totally 170, consisted not only of permanent employees, but included part-time workers, which means that the total number of former Tempo employees accounted for should not be 240 as Gatra claimed but more than 300.

The number of former Tempo journalists joining Gatra reached 35, a minority compared to the total number of Tempo journalists, which totaled 78, if part-time journalists are also taken into account.

"This means that many part-time and permanent ex-Tempo journalists have refused to join Gatra," they said.(pwn)