Media told to stand against restrictions, lawsuits

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The national media should be wary over restrictions imposed by the military administration in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam and the increasing number of lawsuits brought against media outlets as both of these had the potential to destroy press freedom, a senior journalist warned on Friday.

"Threats are appearing before us. Many media outlets face intimidation nowadays," Goenawan Mohammad said in a speech to commemorate Tempo magazine's struggle against attempts to muzzle it.

He was referring to the restrictions imposed by the military administration in Aceh on journalists covering the ongoing conflict. Many journalists have complained about the implementation of the regulations, which have severely hampered them in doing their work.

In his speech, Goenawan also focused on the increasing number of libel suits being brought against the media.

Among the media outlets currently facing both criminal and civil suits are the Rakyat Merdeka daily, which is being prosecuted for allegedly insulting President Megawati Soekarnoputri, and also being sued in a civil action for libel by House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung, Tempo weekly, which is currently facing eight lawsuits, mostly filed by businessman Tomy Winata, and the Kompas daily, which is being sued by businessman Marimutu Sinivasan.

"For a media outlet to be sued would not necessarily be a bad thing if the case were to be heard by an impartial court. In reality, however, it is the people who can buy prosecutors, judges, police officers, journalists and military officers who will use this avenue to stifle press freedom," Goenawan said.

He expressed concern about small media companies that lacked the money to hire good lawyers to defend them in the courts.

To deal with this situation, the former Tempo chief editor suggested the coming forward of pro-bono lawyers to defend the media in the courts.

Teten Masduki, the director of Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), also saw foul play afoot in the increasing number of lawsuits being brought against the media of late.

"The press has come under attack recently as the powers which were momentarily discomfited by the reform movement are currently consolidating themselves," he said without elaborating.

Teten said the trend had become a real danger and threat to press freedom, which was almost the only thing that had survived from the reform movement of 1998.

"The worst thing is that the powerful have been attempting to cover up their corruption by suppressing the media, which will likely resort to self-censorship for fear of being sued," he remarked.

As the people behind the lawsuits always used unscrupulous lawyers, Teten urged the media not to quote them in their reports.

"This would be a kind of social sanction. The media must have the courage to face up to them as we can no longer trust the law enforcers," he suggested.

Tempo magazine was twice banned under the New Order regime. It was first banned in March 1982 over an article on the increasing trend of abstentionism in the 1982 general elections, and banned again in June 1994 over an article criticizing the purchase of second-hand warships from the former East Germany.