Megawati 'won't reopen' ministry of information

Megawati 'won't reopen' ministry of information

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
Perjuangan) secretary-general Sutjipto said on Wednesday that
President Megawati Soekarnoputri would not reestablish the
information ministry, as feared by many activists and figures in
the media.

"Ibu Megawati will not reestablish the information ministry
but instead set up a communications and information agency that
will be chaired by a state minister," Sutjipto said, as quoted by
SCTV, a private television station.

He defended the need to have such an agency to disseminate
information, especially to people living in remote areas.

"One of the functions of the then information ministry was to
provide information to people in remote areas, such as Irian Jaya
and Kalimantan," he said.

Political trap

The director of the Information and Democracy Institution
(INSIDE), Ahmad Rofiq, said in Purwokerto on Wednesday that the
reestablishment of the information ministry could become a
political trap for Megawati's administration.

"Such a trap could stand in the way of Megawati's running of
the government and her political career," said Ahmad, who is also
an expert staff of Sudirman University's rector in Purwokerto.

"It seems to me that this is a very sophisticated political
trap that will endanger Megawati's administration and the
nationalist force. There are people who have not accepted
Megawati as Indonesia's president. So they designed such a
scenario to tarnish her image," he said.

He said the reestablishment of the information ministry would
be opposed by the press and non-governmental organizations
(NGOs).

The NGOs, he noted, would see the ministry's reestablishment
as an effort to muzzle freedom of the press and speech.

However, a political analyst of Gajah Mada University, Affan
Gafar, noted on Wednesday that the reestablishment of the
information ministry was needed amid threats of national
disintegration.

"I realize I have a different view. But the fact is Indonesia
is facing separatist movements, such as in Aceh and Irian Jaya.
We need to launch an intensive campaign to prevent national
disintegration. And I think the information ministry can be
tasked to pursue such an effort," he said in Yogyakarta on
Wednesday.

ANTARA news agency quoted him as saying that the information
ministry should not curb civil rights or control the freedom of
the press.

"The information ministry should not be used to control the
press as was the case during the Soeharto era. Instead, it should
promote unity among Indonesians and provide political education
for the general public," he said.

Another political analyst from the same university in
Yogyakarta, Riswandha Imawan, disagreed with Affan, saying the
reestablishment of the ministry would only hamper the democratic
process.

"The function of the information ministry should be handled by
the current state secretary. The state secretary can disseminate
information from the government via public relations offices to
the provinces, regencies and districts all over Indonesia," he
said.

Aisyah Aminy, a House of Representatives' member of Commission
I for information and foreign affairs, shared Riswandha's view.

She said the existence of an information ministry would only
muzzle the press in Indonesia.

A number of journalist associations and NGOs also rejected the
idea of reestablishing the information ministry.

The Forum of Medan Journalists (FWM) held a rally on Wednesday
in front of North Sumatra's provincial legislature in Medan to
reject the reestablishment of the information ministry. The forum
said such a ministry would only function to control the press.

In Lampung, The Network of Pro-Democracy Society also held a
rally on Wednesday in front of the provincial legislature. It
said the society had its own mechanism to disseminate information
and that there was no need for an information ministry.

A number of journalist organizations in Makassar also held
rallies in Makassar.

Chairman of the Independent Journalists' Alliance Nasrul Alam
Asih said whatever such as ministry was called, it would only
become a political tool of the government to control the press.
(45/bnt)