Mega guarantees freedom of the press: Commission

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta

President Megawati Soekarnoputri told the nation's broadcasters on Wednesday that she would not impose any new restrictions on the country's press, even though there have been suggestions that her administration has been curbing freedom of expression.

Speaking at a meeting with the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI), Megawati, who is seeking a full five-year term in the September election, said that her government would not impose any regulations that violated the laws that deal with the press or broadcasters.

"We were asking about her stance on press freedom following a recent decision by the Constitutional Court to return the authority of regulating the broadcast media to the government," KPI chairman Victor Menayang said after the meeting.

The court ruled on July 28 the broadcasting law did not contradict the constitution and that the KPI's authority to impose administrative sanctions, such as revoking broadcasting permits, should be exercised according to the law.

"She added that she had never showed any tendencies to limit press freedom and she only once filed a lawsuit against a newspaper because it was way out of line," Victor said, paraphrasing the president.

Victor explained that the KPI, a semi-independent agency, recently set up which some have called the reincarnation of the repressive and now-defunct Ministry of Information, had met with the President after a recent decision by the Constitutional Court on July 28 to approve amendments to the broadcasting law and return the authority to the government to regulate the electronic media in the country.

He said that currently the KPI only had the authority to implement the regulations and thus had to wait for the government to decide on the electronic media problems.

"We will continue to ensure that the government will not issue any regulations that violate the laws governing the press," Victor added.

Megawati's administration has been criticized for various legal actions taken against the media using the often harsher colonial-era Criminal Code, instead of the Press Law.

Various lawsuits against the press have raised fears that the government and the private sector were working together to curb the freedom of expression by pressing charges against journalists and media outfits using the Criminal Code and not the Press Law.

Last year, the President sued Rakyat Merdeka for defamation, while Tempo magazine and Koran Tempo are still dealing with a variety of legal battles.

The media community has repeatedly criticized such action, saying that all cases against the media should be dealt with the Press Law, or else freedom of the press would be under threat.

Separately, KPI member Bimo Nugroho said that the agency had received reports from employees of two privately-owned TV stations, as they were required to take sides with the final two presidential candidates vying for power in September's election.

"We received reports from RCTI and Metro TV television stations that there has been intervention against their work in covering the activities of the two presidential candidates," Bimo said at the State Palace.

He emphasized that the campaign teams should not interfere with the media as it needed to remain independent, especially during the election period.