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)