National press

National press

From Neraca

I would like to inform the press that National Press Day
should rightfully be looked upon as a memorable day. It is also a
day the press can reflect on ways to improve itself.

President Soeharto expressed his concern about the national
press which has increasingly adopted a "foreign frame of
thinking" in their coverage of national issues, by "looking at
development through foreign glasses".

Speaking on National Press Day Jan. 12, Soeharto said the
foreign frame of thinking can be likened to glasses that color
the perception of a country's development and its surroundings.

The President also said that if one were to look through
colored glasses at an incident, one would see everything through
those glasses. The use of "foreign spectacles" by reporters has
resulted in the dramatization of the recent riots, followed by
hastily drawn conclusions and imbalanced reporting on the
country's development.

On account of this, the government hopes the national press
would intensify and familiarize itself with the use of the
ethical code based on the values of Pancasila. In this way, the
Indonesian press could step forward in a professional way and
maintain its integrity.

Independent people of the press should scrutinize Pak Harto's
words and they should improve their journalistic professionalism,
so that they would not waver under the weight of global
interests.

Name and address

known to the editor