Half-hearted reform of media policy

Half-hearted reform of media policy

By Atmakusumah

JAKARTA (JP): A quick positive response by Information
Minister Muhammad Yunus to demonstrating young journalists'
demands for looser press control is quite astounding. But does
his new policy guarantee the absence of government intervention
in the internal affairs of the media in the future?

Dozens of young journalists visited the Ministry of
Information on May 28 in a demonstration led by the newly
established Solidarity of the Indonesian Press Society (SMPI).
The leader of the demonstrators read out a 10-point petition
during an unprepared meeting with the minister.

The minister unexpectedly said that he agreed with all the
journalists' proposals, which included the revision of the Press
Law and the revocation of a regulation which designated the
Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) as the only recognized
organization for Indonesian journalists. He also promised to lift
a controversial regulation which gave the information minister
the right to revoke press publication licenses.

Only eight days later, June 5, the minister kept his promise.
He issued a series of new rulings on press and radio broadcasting
as part of "reformation in the information sector".

Under the new regulations, the information minister no longer
has the power to revoke press publication licenses but publishers
who violate the terms of their permits could be brought to court.
The regulations also stipulate that journalists could set up new
organizations separate from the 50-year-old PWI. As to the
revision of the Press Law, the minister said it would take time
because this would involve the House of Representatives.

The information minister, however, still retains the power to
suspend "for a certain period of time" -- but without setting a
time limit -- the licenses of press publications which violate
the terms of their permits.

The regulations also still require all journalists to become
members of a professional organization, which is a violation of
human rights -- the right of journalists to join or not to join
an organization.

Notwithstanding the minister's commitment to "reformation in
the information sector", the new regulations obviously have not
yet fulfilled all the demands of the young journalists for "total
reform" -- political jargon now popularly being used by
university students, intellectuals and other advocates of
political reforms all over the country.

Young journalists continue to feel uneasy about the future of
press freedom in Indonesia. The information minister's new
regulations indicate that the government is not yet deeply
committed to "total reform" of its media policy. Therefore, as in
the past, the government might still be tempted to interfere in
the internal affairs of the media in the future. Or, even worse,
it might continue to ban press publications one way or another.

Lukas Luwarso, newly elected chairman of the Alliance of
Independent Journalists (AJI), said in an interview earlier this
month: "I see no substantial changes in the new press
regulations. Therefore, I think that when the current regime has
regained the strength of its power, it might succeed in banning
critical press publications through a court of law," (Media
Indonesia, June 7, 1998).

Soeharto's resignation on May 21 from his 32-year presidency
does not seem to have ended the fear for a continued banning of
press publications in Indonesia.

In a country like Indonesia, where the practices of
professional journalism very often have to compromise with
political pragmatism in order to remain in business, it is not
always easy to convince students of practical journalism that it
is necessary for every journalist to maintain his or her ideals.
However, it is the duty of journalism educators to convince the
students that disillusionment will not help their media to
develop professionally.

That is what lecturers have been trying to do at the Dr.
Soetomo Press Institute in Jakarta over the years. They have to
build up the spirit of their students -- both working journalists
and candidate journalists -- to fight for their goal to become
professional journalists.

The institute's former students seem to have kept up that
spirit; Roy Pakpahan, the demonstration leader at the Ministry of
Information, and Lukas Luwarso, just happen to be former
students.

They have been fighting for freedom of the press, and -- more
importantly -- the establishment of the ideal morals behind that,
which include the following points.

* Openness, which will allow people and the authorities to
communicate with each other openly and with honesty.

* Independence, which could mean to keep away from collusive
practices between journalists and the press on the one side and
news sources, either government officials or business circles on
the other.

* Integrity, which will keep the "envelope culture" (bribery)
and corruption away from journalists.

The writer is the executive director of the Dr. Soetomo Press
Institute in Jakarta. The article was based on a paper prepared
for a panel discussion entitled "Free Press, Fair Press: Asia" in
Hong Kong, on June 10, 1998. The conference was arranged by the
Freedom Forum Asian Center.

Window: The information minister, however, still retains the power
to suspend "for a certain period of time" -- but without setting a
time limit -- the licenses of press publications which violate
the terms of their permits.