Journalists union vows to uphold independent stance

JAKARTA (JP): The government-sanctioned Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) pledged yesterday to strengthen its independence by distancing itself from the government and the dominant political organization Golkar.

Association secretary-general Parni Hadi said the organization, at its next congress in November, would replace executives who also hold positions in Golkar.

"God willing, the people on the next PWI executive board will not be executives of Golkar or any other political party," Parni told a seminar on public pressure on the press held by the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI).

Parni however did not mention the names of those to be replaced.

PWI chairman Sofyan Lubis is one of the more than 130 members of Golkar's executive board announced by Golkar leader Akbar Tandjung last month.

Akbar, who is also minister/state secretary, appointed Sofyan to head Golkar's public relations and mass media department.

Sofyan is also the chief editor of the popular daily Pos Kota.

Parni, who was installed as the general manager of the official news agency Antara by Akbar last month, admitted that a long debate had taken place among PWI executives before concluding that such a stance would be a top priority on the congress' agenda.

"This is our final stance, to distance PWI from the political parties and Golkar because we know that our greatest problem at this time is being coopted," Parni said.

Commenting on Minister of Home Affairs Syarwan Hamid's plan to sue several local media for their reports on his alleged involvement in the forceful takeover of the Indonesian Democratic Party headquarters in Central Jakarta in 1996, Parni said the legal approach was the most appropriate.

"We (the press) shouldn't be afraid of being sued," added Parni.

University of Indonesia sociologist Sardjono Djatiman, who was also speaking at the seminar yesterday, shared Parni's opinion that the debate should be settled in court.

Sardjono however warned that the court should be fair and impartial.

AJI announced yesterday that a four-member delegation of the International Federation of Journalists arrived here on Monday to learn more on the state of press freedom as a result of political changes following the resignation of veteran ruler Soeharto in May.

Led by federation president Christopher Warren, the delegation will meet, among others, Minister of Information Muhammad Yunus Yosfiah, senior journalist Mochtar Lubis, former chief editor of Tempo magazine Goenawan Mohamad and leaders of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute and the Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union during their five-day visit. (byg)