Journalists from 'Tempo' ready to publish again

Journalists from 'Tempo' ready to publish again

JAKARTA (JP): Journalists from Indonesia's respected magazine Tempo said yesterday they were ready to publish again after winning an appeal against a government ban.

The Jakarta Administrative High Court on Tuesday upheld a lower court's decision reached in May, which ruled against the Ministry of Information's June 1994 banning of the magazine.

"This is not a victory just for Tempo, but ... a victory for law above power," former editor-in-chief Goenawan Mohamad said in a statement.

"As for Tempo itself, we are ready to go back to work," Goenawan said in the statement, which he dictated from Hong Kong where he was speaking at a conference.

Fikri Jufri, who was editor in chief at the time of the banning, said in a press conference yesterday that "this is not a matter of winning or losing, but of justice".

He said the journalists needed only a couple of weeks to meet and make plans as to what further steps they should take to resume publication.

Fikri told The Jakarta Post he is "not pessimistic" about the magazines prospects of being running off the presses again.

"We're still surprised at the court's decision, but now we will start thinking about the two things we need to publish again, namely human resources and equipments," he said.

Many of the magazine's journalists have dispersed and been working at various publications, but most have stated their intention to return once Tempo is published again.

The ban against Tempo on grounds of disrupting national stability, and against two other outspoken weekly publications, DeTik and Editor, came at the time when many people have started to notice a growing openness in Indonesia's press.

"We really appreciate the judges' ruling...they have given us inspiration and the hope that laws will be upheld in Indonesia, something we hope for desperately at times," Fikri said.

Meanwhile, legal expert Loebby Loqman at the University of Indonesia and House members Sophan Sophiaan and S. Suhardi applauded the development.

"It's a breath of fresh air, the fact that judges in the higher court have such courage," Loebby said.

Lawyer T. Mulya Lubis, who is also a member of the Tempo legal team, said the decision was a positive development for the legal situation.

He said the Indonesian judiciary "is probably the weakest institution in the country", but the High Court ruling, along with some others, was a sign of change and cause for hope.

Good wind

"A good wind is blowing. How long it will blow...we will have to fight for that. But it is blowing," Lubis said.

"Of course, it is still too early to draw conclusions, but it is apparent that there are some people in the courts who are concerned about the state of justice, the image of the country, and the rule of law," he said.

The government can still appeal to the Supreme Court. Fikri, however, asserted that Minister of Information Harmoko had in May hinted he would not appeal, should he lose in the Jakarta Administrative Court.

Fikri said he hoped Harmoko's response would be consistent with remarks he made after the May decision.

"We hope he will take this decision in grace, as he promised he would when he reported his office's decision to appeal to President Soeharto last month," Fikri said.

Harmoko reportedly said at the time that he and the government would respect and accept whatever ruling was made at the High Administrative Court.

Meanwhile, Director General for Press and Graphics Development Soebrata, promptly responded by saying that the Ministry of Information "respects" the court's ruling and would study it further before lodging its appeal to the Supreme Court.

Lawyer for Tempo Luhut M.P. Pangaribuan said the government had two weeks to lodge another appeal. He also said the Tempo legal team were ready to argue the case again before the Supreme Court.

The Kompas daily first reported that the High Administrative Court has decided to uphold the lower court's ruling and ordered Harmoko to revoke the ban, and issue a permit for it to resume publication.

The ruling was read by presiding judge Charis Soebijanto of a panel of five judges, rather than the usual three judges. The other judges were Poppy Yayati, Amarullah Salim, Aisyah and YCH Ratulangi.

Charis was quoted as saying the extra judges were used in the case because they wanted the decision to be objective. "This is a problem which has been spotlighted. So let us be more objective," Charis said.

"In making this decision we have based it solely on the existing law. We were not subject to pressure from other parties," he told the daily.

There were no reporters present when the decision was handed down behind closed doors. Kompas based its report on a later interview with Charis. (swe/rms/31/01)