Government-press relationship on track but needs more attention
Government-press relationship on track but needs more attention
Berni K. Moestafa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The media's four-year-old relationship with its former master,
the government, has been progressing on the right track, but
problems remain in the quality of Indonesia's nascent press
freedom, experts say.
As President Megawati Soekarnoputri is to address the nation
for National Press Day on Sunday, media experts are drawing
attention to problems in an otherwise "healthy relationship"
between the media and the government.
"We have articles in our Criminal Code that could send a
journalist to years in prison," said the chairman of the
Indonesian Press Council, Atmakusumah Astraatmadja on Friday.
"The Criminal Code is a legacy from the colonial times so we
ask for the judiciary's understanding and flexibility when
enforcing the law," he said.
Some of the articles have made the media wary about publishing
or airing sensitive news items about the president and vice
president.
Article 137 of the Criminal Code may result in a journalist
being sent to prison for one year and four months as well as
losing his or her job if found guilty of insulting the president
or vice president.
President Megawati has already expressed her dismay over
antigovernment demonstrations expressing what she said were
insulting messages.
She also took issue with the media for being overly critical
toward her government, complaining that media coverage was not
balanced.
But Atmakusumah played down concern that Megawati's comment
marked the beginning of a return to state control over the media.
The Indonesian media experienced a surge of freedom with the
downfall of former president Soeharto's authoritarian regime in
1998.
During his three-decade presidency, it became subject to tight
censorship where the telephone was the means to tell what or what
not to print in tomorrow's papers.
The government should now realize that the media will report
public opinion be it critical or supportive, Atmakusumah said.
Veven S.P. Wardhana of Media Watch at the Institute for
Studies on the Free Flow of Information (ISAI) said the media had
been balanced in criticizing the government.
News reports about the massive protests against simultaneous
increases in fuel prices, electricity and telephone charges
earlier this year were an example of that balance, Veven said.
The media joined the criticism but at the same time helped the
government explain the reasons behind the policy. "It wasn't just
for the sake of bashing the government, but merely bad timing (of
the policy). The media tried to make the public understand the
downside of (fuel) subsidies," he said.
However, Veven said President Megawati should better explain
her government's policies and suggested informal meetings with
the media.
Chief editor of the country's largest daily, Kompas,
Suryopratomo coined a similar idea, suggesting a forum between
the media and the government.
"The media needs criticism, but it must be done in a formal
forum," he said, explaining that through the forum government
criticism would not be seen as a pretense for interference.
The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) raised a more
cautious note amid government' criticism of excessive press
freedom.
"Far from being excessive, the press is just beginning to try
to live up to public expectations," said AJI chairwoman Ati
Nurbaiti.
Yet government and legislators' criticism of excessive press
freedom failed to distinguish between "yellow journalism" and the
mainstream.
"From Indonesia's history we know that governments have a good
relationship with the press in their 'honeymoon periods', and
signs of censorship typically develop later on. So press freedom
must never be taken for granted," she said.