KPWI pledges to protect Indonesian journalists
KPWI pledges to protect Indonesian journalists
JAKARTA (JP): A body set up to protect Indonesian journalists
pledged on Saturday that it would help its members to take legal
action if they were mistreated or abused.
"We want the public and the state to respect journalists.
During the New Order era, the press was heavily censored...and
the law automatically sided with the ruler's interests," Haris
Jauhari, chairman of the Protection Committee for Indonesian
Journalists (KPWI), said.
Haris, a journalist with the private TPI television station
and chairman of the Indonesian Television Journalists
Association, was addressing a symposium on protection for
journalists.
"Legal action is a good option. This committee will support
journalists who are willing to settle problems through the
courts," he said.
He said it was important to promote the use of the courts to
settle disputes. Until recently, journalists' associations have
been powerless to take action when journalists were abused or
victimized, either by their employers, or by the authorities.
On Nov. 11 last year, three photographers covering clashes
between security personnel and student protesters on Jl. Imam
Bonjol in Central Jakarta were beaten up by soldiers.
Following a demonstration by 200 journalists covering the
Special Session of the People's Consultative Assembly, the Armed
Forces leadership apologized and ordered an investigation into
the incident.
More journalists were assaulted while covering the events of
Black Friday at the Semanggi cloverleaf on Nov. 13.
The committee was established on Nov. 15.
While some wanted the committee to focus on eliminating the
physical abuse of journalists, others argued that it was also
important to provide press workers with legal advice and support.
August Parengkuan, a senior journalist who sits on the board
of the committee, said the major threat facing the media today
was from extremist groups in society, not from the government
abusing its power, as once was the case.
"Nowadays, the threat comes from certain groups which are
trying to force their way into the press in the name of
democracy," August said.
"We have to build awareness so that people see they should
channel their aspirations using more elegant and effective means.
There is a code of ethics which must be followed," he noted.
Commenting on a recent announcement that the Ministry of
Information and the National Police would cooperate closely to
deal with crime in the media, August noted that it was a natural
consequence of relaxing controls on the press and simplifying the
procedure to obtain a publishing license.
Hundreds of new publications have sprung up around the country
since the government adopted a more lenient attitude toward the
press after former president Soeharto's downfall in May last
year. (edt)