Paper retains its journalists' association membership

JAKARTA (JP): A local newspaper has denied ever attempting to have seven journalists dropped from the Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI), a witness told a court yesterday.

"The Suara Pembaruan daily has never reported the change in status of these plaintiffs to the association," Marah Sakti Siregar, secretary-general of the association, told the East Jakarta district court.

Applications for membership to the association are usually made by newspaper managements.

Seven journalists, who have worked for the newspaper for between seven and 18 years, are suing the newspaper's general manager, Albert Hasibuan, and publisher PT Media Interaksi Utama for removing their names from the daily's masthead.

According to Petron Curie Nadeak, one of the senior journalists at the daily, the lawsuit culminates a two-year-old dispute.

On Nov. 16, 1994, the daily suspended the seven journalists on the grounds that they had leaked company secrets to the mass media.

In the same month, the publisher applied for permission from the Local Committee for Resolving Labor Disputes to dismiss the journalists and the request was granted.

The journalists' appealed to the Central Team for the Settlement of Labor Disputes on 29 August 1995. On Nov. 11, 1995, the team granted an appeal. The paper's management was told to reinstate the journalists and pay them 50 percent of their salaries from December 1994 to May 1995.

On Jan. 2, 1996, however, the journalists' names were removed from the daily's masthead.

The journalists are demanding Rp 5 billion compensation for what they construe as defamation.

The journalists are represented by lawyers from Amir Syamsuddin and Associates law firm while the Suara Pembaruan daily is represented by a law firm owned by the general manager of the newspaper itself, Albert Hasibuan and Associates.

The hearing was adjourned until next Thursday. (14)