'Kompas' fights back in Sinivasan libel suit

'Kompas' fights back in Sinivasan libel suit

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In a legal twist on Monday, lawyers for Kompas daily countersued
the owner of the Texmaco group, Marimutu Sinivasan, for vexatious
litigation, and demanded US$150 million (approximately Rp 1.2
trillion) in damages.

"The plaintiff's lawsuit is baseless and it has hurt the
national media," said the leader of the Kompas legal team, Amir
Syamsuddin, rebutting the plaintiff's demand for $151 million in
damages for news articles on Sinivasan and the Texmaco group
since 1999.

Amir's argument was based on Sinivasan's failure to identify
the relationships between himself and the 18 companies affiliated
to Texmaco.

In his lawsuit, Sinivasan had asked the court to seize assets
belonging to the daily, its founder Jakob Oetama and chief editor
Soeryopratomo.

Amir also highlighted the absence of a legal agreement between
the daily and the business group which, in accordance with a
Supreme Court precedent, was a main precondition for a civil
suit.

Further, he argued that the Civil Code stipulated that a libel
suit became statute-barred after one year of its publication. The
Civil Code also stipulated that serving the public interest was a
good defense to a libel action.

Therefore, Amir said, 29 of the 34 news articles published
between November 1999 and April 2003 could not be used as causes
of action by the plaintiff.

"This action has further damaged the plaintiff's credibility,"
he added.

Sinivasan's lawyer Y.B. Purwaning M. Yanuar, from the law firm
of Otto Cornelis Kaligis and Associates, asked Presiding Judge
Iskandar Tjake to adjourn the hearing until July 14 for the
defense to prepare their counterarguments.

The case is based on 34 articles and cartoons published in
Kompas daily which the defense says tarnished the image of the
businessman and Texmaco's 18 affiliated companies, and had
prevented them from expanding their businesses and obtaining
loans.

The articles mostly alleged nepotism in the granting of the
facilities received by Sinivasan's original textile company from
former president Soeharto, which were said to have enabled the
company to expand into a group whose businesses also include
engineering, chemical production and truck manufacturing firms.

Sinivasan's lawyers claimed these news articles had libeled
their client and demanded $150 million to make good the group's
material losses. The businessman also demanded the defendants be
ordered to pay an additional $1 million in non-material damages.

Sinivasan also demanded that the defendants publish full-page
apologies in a number of national dailies and magazines, and to
take out airtime to apologize on national television.

In the meantime, Sinivasan has asked the court to seize the
accused's assets to prevent them being disposed off pending the
outcome of the case.

In a separate courtroom, Texmaco lawyers were also suing Tempo
weekly magazine, demanded that the defendant be ordered to pay a
total of $51 million in libel damages.

The judges adjourned both hearings until next week to hear
further arguments from both the defense and the plaintiffs.