Officials told to be mature in facing media criticism

Officials told to be mature in facing media criticism

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

State officials have apparently become so sensitive that they
often bring media outfits to court for defamation if they are not
pleased with certain news reports.

This condition has kept Rakyat Merdeka daily, known for its
sensationalist headlines, busy facing defamation charges either
by state prosecutors or lawyers representing state officials.

Earlier this year, editors and reporters of the daily were
docked by industry and trade minister Rini Suwandi for
defamation, while at the same time, its executive editor was
reported to police by State Intelligence Body (BIN) chief
Hendropriyono, also for defamation.

Earlier, Raykat Merdeka was also declared guilty in two
defamation cases filed by President Megawati Soekarnoputri and
House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Akbar Tandjung
respectively.

Chief editor of 68H news radio network Santoso and press
council member Hinca Panjaitan questioned moves by state
officials to criminalize media criticism by bringing media
outfits to court despite the presence of Law No. 49/1999 on the
press, which provides out of court settlements for disputes
involving the media.

"This has become a trend in Indonesia as well as in several
countries in Eastern Europe," Santoso told The Jakarta Post over
the weekend.

During the 32 years of former president Soeharto's leadership,
media outfits accused of defaming public officials had their
business licenses revoked by the government without any court
trial.

According to Santoso, officials in countries undergoing
democratic transformation, such as Indonesia, have considered
court trials their legitimate weapon to curb media freedom.

"State officials (in those countries) are used to living in
repressive cultures where they found no firm criticism against
their policies. They are yet to be able to live in a more open,
democratic culture. They are supposed to be more mature (in
dealing with public criticism)," Santoso said.

State officials, according to Santoso, must realize that the
media criticizes their policies, not their personalities.

"It's nothing personal. They would not be criticized if they
were nobody. The media have the right to criticize state
officials as part of their social control role," Santoso said.

According to Hinca, court cases against the media were
triggered by lack of understanding among government officials
about the substance of the press law.

"It is actually questionable because the law was produced by
both the government and the House of Representatives. If they do
respect the law, they should respect the press law. If they do
not obey the press law, who else will?,

"If, say, a state official managed to make a newspaper
bankrupt over defamation, would this solve the problem? No. They
could not stop the media people from reporting their ideas and
issuing criticism (against government officials)," Hinca said.

Both Santoso and Hinca agreed that the media was not immune to
lawsuits, but they advised state officials to exercise their
right to answer or deny inaccurate news reporting.

The press council, Hinca said, is currently drafting a guide
on available solutions to settle media disputes.

The press law stipulates that if one disagrees with a certain
report in the media, he or she can exercise their rights by
asking the media to publish their objections, or by asking the
media to correct their reports, or the press council to mediate a
dispute.