Journalists welcome advent of press freedom

Journalists welcome advent of press freedom

JAKARTA (JP): Senior journalists welcomed yesterday the recent
advent of greater press freedom and called on the government to
revoke all rulings which repressed the media and even threatened
their survival.

Susanto Pudjomartono, editor in chief of The Jakarta Post
daily, said the reform movement had given the press favorable
momentum to free itself from decades of oppression from former
president Soeharto's repressive government, thus allowing it to
help revive democratic principles in the country.

He then urged all government rulings which restrict either
press freedom, freedom of opinion or freedom to form unions to be
lifted.

The day-long discussion was organized by the Association of
Independent Journalists (AJI), an underground union of
journalists banned by the Soeharto administration.

According to Susanto, among rulings which should immediately
be revoked is Ministerial Decree No. 1/1984 on publishing
licenses and the decree that recognizes the Indonesian
Journalists Association (PWI) as the only union for journalists
and the Newspaper Publishers Association (SPS) as the only union
for newspaper publishers.

Atmakusumah, a senior journalist and executive director of the
Dr. Soetomo Press Institute, said the government should also
substitute the restrictive law on publishing licenses with a more
positive one which supports and guarantees press freedom.

"I agree with the idea that the government should not have the
authority to revoke publishing licenses. The Criminal Code can be
used to impose sanctions against violations by the mass media.

"The government should be able to take a newspaper, or a TV
station, to court. But it's unfair to revoke publishing
licenses," he said.

He further described the current press laws which were issued
in 1966 and 1982 as unfavorable, illusive and impractical.

AJI chairman Lukas Luwarso expressed hope that in this era of
reform, the mass media could go back to its original function as
an independent presenter of public information.

"Let the courts, as the legal mechanism in society, rule on
problems caused by mass media reports," he said, pointing to
charges of libel as a legal avenue which could be pursued.

Prison

Susanto said one of the most encumbering remnants of the old
regime on the press was the "mental prison" often faced by
journalists who had a self-censorship mechanism embedded within
their psyche after years of strong control.

"The press should now be brave and replace the excessive use
of euphemism and slogans with direct, frank journalism," he said.

According to him, the government should play a limited role in
the media in order to prevent a new form of oppression in the
press.

"Control of the press should be carried out by the press
itself ... Violations committed by the press should be tried by a
court which is free of government interference," he remarked.

Susanto, former journalist of the banned Tempo weekly,
suggested an independent team of experts be established to
regularly evaluate the press' credibility so the press could
continually improve itself.

Atmakusumah concurred, adding that the public should be
another important element in controlling the press by ensuring it
adheres to a code of ethics. (rms)