Goenawan Mohamad spells out terms for return of `Tempo'
Goenawan Mohamad spells out terms for return of `Tempo'
JAKARTA (JP): Goenawan Mohamad says he will consider the
government's offer to issue a new license in place of the one for
Tempo which was revoked last week, but stressed that the new
magazine must not be subject to any kind of official
restrictions.
Goenawan, the magazine's director and former chief editor,
told The Jakarta Post yesterday there is always a chance of Tempo
getting a new publishing license in the future.
"But if that means we have to give certain people outside
Tempo the mandate to run the magazine or if we have to allow them
to determine Tempo's editorial content, Tempo might as well
remain dead," he said.
"There are limits to how one can bear such restrictions," he
stressed.
Tempo was one of three current affairs magazines that lost its
publishing licenses, more popularly known as SIUPP, last week.
The move signals the magazines' virtual closure, and that they
can only resurface under new names, with new boards of directors
and editors.
The government, now under pressure to reverse the move, has
said it would consider giving Tempo a new license but has not
spelled out the terms, which are expected to be decided upon
behind closed doors.
Goenawan, one of the founding members of the magazine 23 years
ago, stated however that he had no intention of remaining with
Tempo if the magazine was allowed to resume publication under the
same or any other name.
He described his experience in leading a news magazine in
Indonesia as like "a pilot in a hijacked plane."
"You make one small mistake, your plane will blow up and many
people will fall prey. But after your plane is blown up, you are
still forced to be careful because you'll get a new plane --
complete with new hijackers."
He said he could not go through such an experience again.
In any case, the process of reviving Tempo or its replacement
is likely to be a long one and the magazine's journalists and
employees are currently bracing for a long wait.
Goenawan said Tempo's staff are now analyzing their options to
try to survive and stay together for as long as they can.
"We are now implementing these measures," he said without
elaborating on the measures being taken.
He pointed out that something bigger is at stake for the
Indonesian press than the loss of Tempo and the other two
magazines, and this is reflected in the street protests that are
now occurring.
"This is not only a matter of Tempo. If people have taken to
the streets to protest, it is not to give Tempo another chance to
circulate ... The issue at stake is freedom," he said.
Even if Tempo, Editor and DeTIK's are allowed to return, the
people currently fighting for them should also fight for
government assurances that the open climate will continue.
Goenawan said he considered the Indonesian press to be "not a
very bold one" even under the recent climate of political
openness.
"But now even such a silent press is banned," he said. "If a
careful press has been banned, what else is there left?"
Goenawan said the direction of the future Indonesian press
depends on their attitude, whether they will fight or stay low,
and on the implementation of the government's new control system.
"My hunch is that the government may revoke the ministerial
regulation, giving the power to the minister to revoke a license
of the publications, but they will create a new ruling," he said.
This new ruling, he offered, could be in the form of buying or
investing shares in publications, enabling the government to
control the press from the inside, "so you don't need any
ministerial regulation to control the press freedom, you only
need money". (pwn)