Mega kicks reporters out of party meeting

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Megawati Soekarnoputri banned reporters from covering her party's Idul Fitri celebration on Tuesday and sent them out of a meeting at party headquarters in Lenteng Agung, South Jakarta.

"I am briefing my supporters, so please leave the room," said Megawati, chairperson of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).

Dozens of electronic and print reporters, who were officially invited by the party's secretariat, were there to cover the event.

Stressing that the celebration was not for public view, Megawati personally asked the media to be escorted out of the meeting hall.

"This is not for publication, this is off-the-record so should there be news about this (meeting) I will sue (the media running the story)," she said.

In justifying the ban, she remarked: "Journalists should respect their code of ethics, and the media have been very lenient with this. I expect the media people to be disciplined."

Megawati's remark came in the middle of her impromptu speech in front of hundreds of supporters at party headquarters.

Annoyed by her statement, all journalists left the venue. Some party members tried to appease the journalists by apologizing for the remark and asked that they remain in the compound until the event was over.

"We do not need to stay here; you invited us, but Megawati threw us out, so why should we stay?" a journalist told party leaders.

Most of the journalists attending the event had received official invitations signed by PDI Perjuangan secretary-general Soetjipto.

Megawati has expressed disappointment over the media on several occasions for focusing too much on her failures, rather than her accomplishments, since she became head of state in 2001.

The President has sued one of the editors of the Rakyat Merdeka daily for comparing her to the notorious cannibal Soemanto and won, with the editor receiving a suspended sentence.

During a recent meeting with the national association of publishers, Megawati promised to settle any disputes with the media through the National Press Council before bringing the case to court.