Mega told to make peace with daily

JAKARTA: Some circles in the House of Representatives have called for an end to President Megawati Soekarnoputri's legal dispute with Rakyat Merdeka daily, saying the government was in dire need of support from the press for many of its policies.

"There is no need for us to be at odds with the press even though we understand that many of the daily's criticisms through its articles and stories are too excessive and unreasonable," a House member representing the United Ummat Sovereignty faction, Asnawi Latif, told the media here on Friday.

He said at present the government was facing many difficult, complicated and critical problems, such as the settlement of the Aceh conflict.

All the problems would certainly require more support from the press to counter foreign pressure.

"Why should we waste our energy only for one particular daily," he said.

"If the daily violates the code of ethics, it'd be better for the government to just reprimand it as one would reprimand a naughty child," he said.

The executive editor of the Jakarta-based daily, Supratman, is standing trial for publishing a series of articles on the President deemed defamatory.

According to the indictment, the daily had published four libelous articles on its front page between January and February. Supratman was charged under Article 137 paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code with insulting the president and vice president, which carries a maximum penalty of 16 months in prison. -- Antara