'Nothing is final yet': Harmoko on 'Tempo' case
'Nothing is final yet': Harmoko on 'Tempo' case
KEBUMEN, Central Java (JP): Minister of Information Harmoko,
whose banning of the Tempo magazine was overturned in a landmark
court decision last week, has appointed the attorney general's to
appeal the verdict.
"I already signed the power-of-attorney letter," Harmoko told
The Jakarta Post here yesterday. "In this case, the government
will always respect the court and efforts to uphold the law."
"What we seek is justice and truth, not winning or finding
mistakes," Harmoko said, adding that he will abide by whatever
ruling the appeal court issues.
Harmoko denied having been hasty or emotional in his decision
to appeal. He also refused to say whether he will re-issue the
publishing license of Tempo, which he revoked last June, should
he lose his appeal.
"Let's not talk about any if's. Let's just wait for the
outcome (of the proceedings), and let's all respect the court of
justice," he said.
"Nothing is final yet," he added, saying that the Jakarta
State Administrate Court's decision to topple his ban on
Wednesday has not yet become a "legal final decision".
The court, in an unprecedented ruling, overturned the ban and
ordered Harmoko to grant the magazine a new publishing license.
The decision was widely hailed by observers, members of the press
and human rights activists, who called it a landmark development
in Indonesian press freedom.
The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) seized the
momentum and proposed that the administrative court's ruling be
considered as a basis for a Supreme Court review of the
ministry's authority to grant and revoke publishing licenses.
The call for a judicial review has been repeatedly made by
various parties in the past. A number of legal experts believe
that the ministry's authority to revoke licenses violates the
higher Press Law which does not recognize license revocation or
publication bans.
Harmoko refused yesterday to comment on the YLBHI's
suggestion.
"Let's not talk about it now... it's an entirely different
issue," he said. "We're now talking about the administrative
court's ruling... we will deal with that first."
He also pledged not to meddle in the court's proceedings.
Harmoko issued a decree in June 1994 revoking the publishing
licenses of the newsweeklies Tempo, Editor and DeTik. With the
appointment of the attorney general as Harmoko's legal
representative, the appeal is expected to be filed at the Jakarta
high court soon.
Meanwhile, Abdurrahman Wahid, the controversial leader of the
Nahdlatul Ulama Moslem organization, yesterday joined observers
in welcoming the court's ruling.
"This is a significant victory for democracy, although by no
means does it apply throughout Indonesia," he said. But "it's a
contribution by Benjamin for democratization. He will be written
down in history as a judge who upheld democracy."
Abdurrahman also said that, in general, Indonesian
democratization is still far from satisfying. "There are so many
things that have to be improved here."
In a related development, the Central Jakarta district court
will convene this morning to issue a preliminary ruling on a
civil petition against Harmoko filed by the ex-Tempo employees.
(har/swe)