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)