Intellectuals lose main reading stuff after magazine bans

Intellectuals lose main reading stuff after magazine bans

JAKARTA (JP): The intellectual community in Indonesia has lost
some of its favorite reading material with the government's ban
of Tempo, Editor and DeTIK magazines.

A number of prominent scholars said yesterday the magazines,
particularly Tempo, which is the more established of the three,
and DeTIK, the newest and most aggressive in its reporting, have
been among their main news sources and that their absence will be
greatly missed.

"To tell you frankly, these magazines have lifted Indonesia's
image in various international forums," said Kwik Kian Gee, a
vocal economist and one of the deputy chairmen of the Indonesian
Democratic Party (PDI).

"They carry scientific and intellectual contents in their
articles," Kwik said, adding that one of his most favorite
sections in Tempo was Goenawan Mohammad's "Catatan Pinggir"
column.

Kwik regretted the government's conduct, saying the spirit of
consensus was betrayed.

"If the government can tolerate the bad debts of 49 big
conglomerates, why has it adopted such an attitude towards the
press?"

Djisman Simanjuntak, another economist, said for him, Tempo
was the country's leading news magazine.

"Tempo is many things for me and there's no substitute for
it," Djisman, who is a member of the Board of Directors at the
Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said.

"I miss the place to write and communicate my ideas," he said.

Djisman, a professor at the Prasetya Mulya Institute of
Management, was one of many scholars who wrote regularly for
Tempo.

He said the government should appreciate the efforts of the
magazines to give best information to their readers. "I know
exactly how Tempo crept from below and eventually reached
success," he said.

Noted political scientist Juwono Sudarsono said Indonesian
intellectuals read the news magazines to widen their horizons.

"Although I didn't subscribe to any of them, I read them just
like I have to have my lunch," said Juwono, the dean of the
University of Indonesia's School of Political and Social
Sciences.

Juwono however, who also sits on the Press Council which
oversees the behavior of the Indonesian press, however said the
three magazines had pushed their luck to far.

Yet he is hopeful that a compromise will be found to allow
these magazines to publish again.

"In my opinion, the fatal mistake these magazine made was in
creating the impression of discord among high ranking officials,"
he said. "I am optimistic that in the near future they will enter
our orbit again. Of course they have to compromise with the
government."

Faults

Djumhur Hidayat of the Center of Information and Development
Studies (CIDES) also said that while Tempo had been an important
source of information for intellectuals the magazine had not been
without its faults.

"It has blown up some political issues out of proportion
recently," Djumhur said, speculating that this was the reason why
it lost its publishing license.

Djumhur felt that he will miss DeTIK more because its arrival
was timed with the government's decision to open up the political
system in Indonesia.

"I think we all want a magazine like that to make a comeback
soon," he said.

Noted poet Emha Ainun Nadjib said the three magazines had been
pioneers of greater political openness because they had been bold
in reporting politically sensitive issues.

"I praise their courage in exposing issues which threatened
their existence," he said.

Emha questioned why the life or death of a magazine rests
solely in the hands of one person, the Minister of Information.

"We must fight and give that power back to the people, the
holders of sovereignty," he said. (prs)