Don't expect much from established media: Expert

Don't expect much from established media: Expert

JAKARTA (JP): A communication specialist on Wednesday
encouraged the public to run what he called "underground media"
which would give them the access to the freedom of expression.

Ashadi Siregar, a lecturer at Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada
University, said that people would only be able to express their
ideas freely through underground sources since the established
media is constrained by a strong censorship mechanism.

The "underground media" could take the forms of leaflets,
bulletins and cassettes, he said during a discussion on freedom
of the press.

Organized by former journalists of the defunct Tempo weekly,
the discussion was attended by around 200 participants.

"Only the underground media can deliver uncensored
information," he said.

He said that people could not expect much from the established
media, due to strong censorship by the government and also by
press institutions themselves.

The Indonesian media, which is controlled by the government,
practices self-censorship.

Since it was unlikely for the established media to freely
present information, people must then read between the lines, he
said.

Ashadi, as well as the other two speakers, poet Emha Ainun
Nadjib and student activist E. Suprianto, raised concerns over
the government's policy of controlling the press by requiring the
media to have a publishing license or SIUPP.

According to the regulation, the media has to obtain a
publishing license. The minister of information has the authority
to revoke it if the media is considered "irresponsible."

From the floor, former Tempo editor, Goenawan Mohamad, said
that a SIUPP was becoming "rare and expensive."

"It's only those who have money or power who can obtain it,"
he said.

The government recently granted the SIUPP application for
Gatra, which is partly owned by timber baron Mohamad (Bob) Hasan
and conglomerate owner Ciputra.

The new magazine is run by a number of former journalists and
employees of the Tempo weekly. The other former Tempo
journalists, who insist on having their own magazine, also
applied for a publishing license. However, there has not been any
answer from the government.

Goenawan said that press freedom was needed when
irregularities took place.

"We would not have needed press freedom if Marsinah's case had
not happened ...," he said citing an example.

Before Tempo was banned in June, it ran a cover story on the
case of labor activist Marsinah, who was killed following a
demonstration staged to demand a rise in wages.

Emha said that everyone had the right to develop their ideas
and it was the duty of the press to facilitate this. In this
case, freedom of the press was necessary, he said.

Boycott

The poet and columnist said that he would not write for Gatra,
which made its debut Tuesday, in solidarity with the former Tempo
journalists who have yet to obtain the SIUPP for their new
magazine, to be called Berita.

He said his decision had nothing to do with the request of
prominent scholar Arief Budiman to boycott Gatra.

Arief, a lecturer at the Satya Wacana Christian University,
had appealed to former Tempo columnists not to write for Gatra
since he believed that Gatra had been co-opted by vested
interests.

Emha said in the discussion that it was the right of former
Tempo journalists "to feel afraid and to lose."

"We have to give the journalists a chance to prove that
regardless of who the share holders are, they can still write
freely and fairly," he said.

In response to the Arief's boycott, Gatra spokesman Ed
Zoelverdi said what Arief was trying to develop was a kind of
democracy which came from "a rotten heart".

Earlier this week Emha, Ashadi and another intellectual Umar
Kayam presented a joint statement on the state of the culture,
calling on the people to be aware of a co-opted press.(sim)