Media warned over violations

Media warned over violations

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Information Harmoko yesterday said
the government counted no less than 140 instances in which the
Indonesian media violated their code of ethics in 1995. This year
alone, the number has already reached 11.

"Let's hope there will be no revocation of the press
publishing licenses. The press however must be introspective,"
Harmoko said at a breaking of the fast dinner with chief editors,
members of the Press Council, and executives of the Association
of Indonesian Journalists.

Complaints about code violations came from members of the
public as well as the Press Council, he said, adding that they
affected both the print and broadcast media.

He did not give details of the violations, but said they
ranged from minor violations to false reports.

Last Friday, on National Press Day, President Soeharto called
on the leaders of the Indonesian press to control the behavior of
their members, saying that code violations were becoming too
frequent.

"So what the President said the other day was quite right,"
said Harmoko, himself a former journalist.

"As members of the press corps, we have not lived up to the
journalists' code of ethics. The credibility of the press hinges
on this code," he said.

He also reminded that press freedom in Indonesia should be
accompanied by a sense of responsibility. "Our openness is
responsible openness. It's not openness for openness sake." (01)