General sees more independent court

General sees more independent court

BUKITTINGGI, West Sumatra (JP): A high ranking officer of the Armed Forces said last week's victory by Tempo magazine in its legal battle against the government is a sign of the growing strength of the Indonesian courts of law.

"We believe that our legal institutions have strengthened," Maj. Gen. Syarwan Hamid, assistant to ABRI's Chief of Social and Political Affairs, said on Friday.

Syarwan said he respected the Jakarta High Administrative Court's decision to pass judgment in Tempo's favor in the court battle against the government.

"The decision is constitutional," he said.

The high court last week upheld the Jakarta State Administrative Court's ruling in May which found the government's decision to revoke the publishing license of Tempo unconstitutional. The ruling also ordered the government to hand back the publishing license to the magazine's proprietors.

The government appealed to the high court and lost however, Attorney General Singgih announced the government now plans to appeal to the Supreme Court.

The lawsuit was filed by Tempo's former chief editor Goenawan Mohamad against Minister of Information Harmoko, whose office revoked the magazine's license in June 1994 saying that its reports were undermining national security.

Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono declined to specifically comment on the Tempo's case but said last week's court ruling was another sign of greater political openness in Indonesia.

Moerdiono said the independence of the court and the presence of institutions like the National Commission on Human Rights were "important signs that even the government is subject to controls by others".

Moerdiono and Syarwan were in Bukittinggi last week to attend the seminar on the national political agenda, held as part of the commemoration of Indonesia's 50th anniversary.

During Friday night's conclusion of the seminar, organized by the Center for Information and Development Studies, the two men addressed the issue of media freedom in Indonesia.

Moerdiono said given the power journalists have in influencing public opinion, they must shoulder a big responsibility.

The Indonesian media already had ample freedom which was reflected by the fact that more and more media were committing errors in their reports, he said. (anr)