LoI signing moved after press boycott

JAKARTA (JP): A boycott by Palace journalists protesting coverage restrictions forced the signing of the Letter of Intent between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the government to be moved from its original venue at Bina Graha Presidential Office on Wednesday.

About 100 journalists who have access to the palace compound refused to cover the planned signing ceremony or any other presidential activity despite repeated appeals from Cabinet Secretary Marsilam Simajuntak.

"We decided not to cover the President's activities today because we can no longer tolerate restrictions when it comes to access to information," Lukman Alpayana, chairman of the association of journalists who cover presidential palace, told Marsilam.

The conflict of interest had been brewing for some time and journalists claimed their access to visiting officials at the palace was limited and that they were often sequestered.

Compared to his predecessors B.J. Habibie and Soeharto, President Abdurrahman Wahid has personally been more accessible to the press.

He holds regular press conferences, and never hesitates to answer even the most sensitive questions.

But recently there have been discernible signs which have raised alarm among press circles, especially when Abdurrahman failed to condemn intimidation by Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) civilian guards at the Jawa Pos daily office.

Abdurrahman has also been increasingly blaming the press for abusing statements made by himself or state officials.

Despite the apparent era of "openness", journalists at the palace have in the past seven-months lost two press rooms which they occupied for decades.

Journalists are no longer allowed to use a ward adjacent to Merdeka Palace which, according to senior journalists, was inaugurated by President Sukarno as a press room in the 1960s.

The room was also often used for press conferences during the Soeharto era.

It has now been taken over and used by the President's four adjutants.

As a result of this, journalists covering Abdurrahman Wahid's activities at Merdeka Palace, his official residence, must wait out in the open because journalists are not allowed to enter the building.

In February, newly appointed Secretary of Government Supervision Bondan Gunawan occupied the other strategically located press room opposite the President's working room at Bina Graha. From this room journalists could easily view the President's guests.

Bondan said he wanted to use the room as his office, although he had already been allocated a large office at a building located next to the Bina Graha building.

Bondan then provided a new press room at the back of the Bina Graha building which is isolated far from most presidential activity.

With frustrations at a pitch, events exploded on Wednesday morning when chief of Presidential Security Guard's Group A (Paspampres), Col. Otte Ruchiyat, barred journalists from waiting for ministers in front of the presidential office as is the customary practice.

Then, later inside the room where the Cabinet meeting took place, journalists were also restricted from the normal practice of approaching ministers before the meeting began to get firsthand information from them.

Enraged, the journalists then decided to boycott the important signing ceremony of the Letter of Intent at Bina Graha on Wednesday afternoon.

The ceremony was to be attended by the President.

Coordinating Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry Kwik Kian Gie, Minister of Finance Bambang Sudibyo, Bank Indonesia Governor Sjahril Sabirin and IMF official Joshua Felman waited for 30 minutes as Marsilam negotiated with journalists.

"This signing is very important for the country, please cover it and then we will discuss your complaints," Marsilam told journalists.

But his pleas failed as officials decided to move the ceremony to the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) on Jl. Diponegoro, Central Jakarta.

The president did not attend the eventual ceremony.

"This walkout is only for one day, but we hope the government will be ready to accommodate us," Lukman said. (mds/prb/dja)