Goenawan Mohamad loses as court finds for Tomy

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta

The East Jakarta District Court ordered on Monday Tempo media group co-founder and senior journalist Goenawan Mohamad to print a public apology to well-connected tycoon Tomy Winata for his statements deemed libelous published last year in the Koran Tempo daily.

In its verdict, the court ruled the defendants guilty of defaming the businessman and of violating the principle of presumed innocence in regards Tomy, the plaintiff.

The defendants in the civil lawsuit are Goenawan, Koran Tempo and the daily's publisher, PT Tempo Inti Media Harian.

Presiding judge ZA Sangadji and judges Syamsul Bachri and Fritz John Polaya, ordered the defendants to run the apology on the front pages of Koran Tempo and Kompas dailies for two consecutive days.

The judges set the size of the advertisement at four columns by 15 centimeters, or about one eighth of a newspaper page and issued a fine of Rp 10 million (US$1,111) each day the defendants failed to fulfill the court order.

The court, however, rejected Tomy's demand for a Rp 1 billion compensation for material losses and Rp 20 billion for non- material losses, and also annulled the asset preservation order on Goenawan's house in Pulo Mas, East Jakarta, which Tomy had requested previously.

The judges said expert witnesses had convinced them that Goenawan's statements indeed contained defamatory remarks against Tomy.

"As the defendant is a prominent public figure, while Koran Tempo is a well-known daily, any statements from him and their publication by the daily would have an immense effect on the public," Sangadji said, adding that the articles in question had been displayed in an eye-catching format.

The judges further said that, as the statements were connected to a previous assault on Tempo by Tomy's men, the articles could also be considered biased and indicative of conflict of interest.

On March 8, 2003, Tomy's supporters attacked Tempo's office in protest of an article which insinuated Tomy as being involved in a fire that razed Tanah Abang textile market.

Tomy filed a civil lawsuit against Goenawan's statements published in the March 12 and March 13, 2003 editions on the incident, which likened him to a thug.

Concerning the accused's primary defense that Tomy should have used his right to respond in the press before filing a lawsuit in accordance with the Press Law, the judges said an individual had no obligation to do so.

Goenawan and Tempo lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis immediately told the court they would appeal the ruling.

Todung emphasized that Goenawan's statements did not violate any law and that the verdict denied an individual's freedom of expression. "The statements have a sense of truth to them, because I don't think anybody wants this country to fall into the hands of thugs."

Monday's verdict is the third loss for the Tempo media group in their legal battle against Tomy and is another slap for press freedom, as the Press Law was again sidelined.

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In March, the Central Jakarta District Court ordered Tempo magazine to pay Rp 500 million in damages to Tomy and to run a public apology in several media for three days for the Tanah Abang fire article.

Meanwhile, in January, the South Jakarta District Court ordered Koran Tempo to pay US$1 million in damages to the tycoon for an article mentioning his plan to open a gambling den in South Sulawesi.