Goenawan Mohamad loses as court finds for Tomy

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.

bisa dipotong

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.