Journalists warned over 'Tempo' dummy
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Information Harmoko has warned former journalists of the banned Tempo newsweekly that he will take action if they go ahead with their plan to launch an "introductory" new edition of the magazine for limited readership today.
"They can't do this. We'll take action," Harmoko told the Antara news yesterday agency when asked to comment on a report that journalists were planning to issue the "dummy" edition, as an introductory copy is usually known in magazine industry circles.
The edition is intended to be issued today, coinciding with the first anniversary of the revocation of the magazine's publishing license by Harmoko. The cover story of the 78-page edition, which will carry some advertisements, deals with the newsprint crisis.
The minister said any publication required official permission, be it in the form of a press publishing permit (SIUPP) or a publishing permit for limited circulation (STT).
The minister declined to say what measures he had in store for the former Tempo journalists. "When it (the magazine) is published, then we'll take action," he said.
He described the plan to issue the dummy edition as "unethical", given that the litigation initiated against him by the journalists had not yet been resolved in the Jakarta State Administrative Court.
In a surprise move last month, the court ruled in favor of the Tempo journalists and declared the minister's decision to revoke the magazine's publishing license as unlawful. Moreover, the court ordered the government to restore Tempo's license.
Harmoko stressed yesterday that the court's decision was not final, since the government had filed an appeal in the High State Administrative Court.
"The ministry of information has already filed the appeal through the attorney general. I think it would be more ethical if we all waited until there's legal certainty," he said. "You cannot publish anything until there's legal certainty."
Responding to Harmoko's remarks, Bambang Harimurty, the head of the group of Tempo journalists who put together the dummy, said that as far as he was concerned, the edition was legal.
"We have checked with our lawyers. I don't see any problem," Bambang told The Jakarta Post by phone last night.
As a one-time-only edition intended for a limited audience, the dummy did not need any license, he said, adding that the dummy edition was being run "to test our production system."
Bambang, who was Tempo's correspondent in Washington at the time of the ban, paid a visit to the House of Representatives on Monday and met with leaders of the Armed Forces faction to discuss his efforts to revive the magazine. Tempo's former chief editor Goenawan Mohamad also took part in the meeting.
Bambang said he had sought the faction's help, asking that it raise the issue with Harmoko when the minister holds a hearing with Commission I of the House next month.
Meanwhile, Tempo's former employees and their supporters are busy this week marking the passing of one year since the magazine was banned.
A three-day exhibition of some of Tempo's graphic illustrations opened on Monday night at the Taman Ismail Marzuki arts center in on Jl. Cikini Raya, Central Jakarta. Other activities include poetry readings, the presentation of awards to people who have fought for press freedom, and the launching of a book about Tempo's court battle. (emb/23)