Indonesian press enters gray area
Indonesian press enters gray area
JAKARTA (JP): Senior journalists and media watchers warned
yesterday that the press was entering unchartered waters full of
uncertainty both in terms of financial survival and editorial
policy.
Chief editor of DTAK tabloid, Eros Djarot, said yesterday at
a discussion on press freedom that the press' biggest enemy was
no longer immediate censorship or repression but uncertainty over
the political and economic state of the country.
"It's not black or white anymore like it was used to be in
Soeharto's era," the musician-turned-editor said.
"Then our enemy was easy, Soeharto. Now, it's the
uncertainty," said Eros whose first tabloid, DTIK, was banned by
the Soeharto government in 1994 along with two other
publications.
Like other industries, the country's press has been hard hit
by the economic crisis. Almost all publications have had to
either reduce the number of pages they print or otherwise
downsize their operations.
On the political front, the government has seemingly allowed
more press freedom, as the press has been able to be more open in
their reports.
However the ambivalence remains as President B.J. Habibie
suggested recently that journalists be sorted and accredited by
the issuance of some sort of license.
During yesterday's discussion senior journalist Djaffar H.
Assegaff joined the chorus of condemnation against the
government's suggestion that journalists be licensed.
"Journalists cannot just be licensed like medical, law or
other professionals because it is contiguous against principles
of freedom of expression," he said.
Despite these criticisms, the government, apparently with the
full backing of the government-sanctioned board of the Indonesian
Journalists Association (PWI), is continuing to toy with the
idea.
PWI Secretary-General Parni Hadi defended the licensing plan
Thursday. He said the government would press on and eventually
issuing "official blue press cards".
As quoted by Antara, Parni -- Habibie's media advisor -- said
that only PWI journalists with the blue national press cards
would be entitled to work as journalists.
Eros, during yesterday's discussion at the Dr. Soetomo Press
Institute (LPDS) warned that as political bonds are loosened, the
press has to remain steadfast in its values and continue to act
as a responsible entity.
As various sins of the past are unearthed, he urged
journalists to avoid "trial by the press" and let "conscience and
moral-intellectual responsibility" guide news reporting.
Communications expert M. Budyatna said that with greater
freedom, the press must now present information in "plain
language" and shed the rhetorical and equivocal vernacular of the
past.
He also pointed to the need for the press to go out and
uncover more inconsistencies which were acceptable practice
during the Soeharto era.
"For instance, how come a civil servant who has worked for 30
years only get Rp 7 million from his pension fund?" the
University of Indonesia lecturer said referring to a recent case
involving a civil servant and the state-run pension scheme.
Feminist Ruth Indiah Rahayu of the women's non-government
organization Kalyanamitra said one area in which the press needed
to improve was its reporting on gender issues.
She charged that the press was often "sexist" in its reports.
"It's still a rampant practice by the press," Ruth said.
(43/aan)