Media people criticized for lack of solidarity

Media people criticized for lack of solidarity

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Prominent lawyer Nono Anwar Makarim criticized the Indonesian media on
Thursday for its lack of cohesion in putting pressure on the
government and the House of Representatives to revise existing
laws that are often used against journalists and media
enterprises.

"If media people can show solidarity, they can put pressure on
the government and the House (to reform outdated laws). We must
look to other countries that have reformed press laws," he said
in a discussion organized by the Press Council and UNESCO here on
Thursday.

Nono was referring to Japan and South Korea which have a
similar legal system to Indonesia but have reformed their legal
system to make it more transparent and democratic.

Several media people in Indonesia have been brought to court
on criminal charges. The court uses the Criminal Code, instead of
the Press Law, Nono asserted.

Media people are often charged with defamation or libel,
something that does not happen in other democratic countries, he
said.

In a defamation case, Nono said, the court must seek ways to
quickly restore the reputation of "the victims", instead of
seeking revenge against journalists.

"If there is a defamation case, the solution must not be
sending journalists to jail," he said, adding that defamation
victims must have their names restored quickly through
clarification.

The effective and efficient mechanism to restore someone's
name is through the use of the Press Law, under which the media
group must clarify its erroneous report and apologize for its
mistake.

"The Press Council will also mediate between the media and the
victims of defamation," said Nono, a former corporate lawyer.

Former Supreme Court judge Benyamin Mankoedilaga said that the
Press Law did not contain sufficient stipulations to protect
journalists.

He said that the Press Law guaranteed the protection of
journalists on duty. Taking as an example, he said journalists
assigned to conflicting areas must be protected from armed
conflict.

However, journalists must also have access to state offices,
such as the House of Representatives, to carry out their duties,
he said.

Benyamin, however, criticized Law No. 40/1999 which only
mentions three possible types of misconduct that can be committed
by media people.

The three are violation of religious norms, social norms, and
the principle of presumption of innocence.

"How about other wrongdoings? We must admit that some aspects
are not mentioned in the law," he said.

The Press Law does not include stipulations dealing with
articles or reports that may contain libel, defamation, or lies.

He stated that the press must not become a super body that can
do no wrong, but instead must be equal before the law.

Also speaking in the discussion were Toby Mendel of the
London-based Article XIX press group and Asanga Welikala from Sri
Lanka's Center for Policy Alternatives (CPA).