`People are selfish and thoughtless'

`People are selfish and thoughtless'

Violence or intimidation against the media could hamper press
freedom and eventually deprive the public of its right to
information. If this were to occur the reform movement would come
to nought and freedom of the press and freedom of information
would disappear like so much dust in the wind. The Jakarta Post
spoke to a number of residents about last Saturday's incident at
Tempo magazine when a protest by supporters of businessman Tomy
Winata turned violent.

Hidayat, 50, is a beggar in Blok M, South Jakarta. He lives
in Joglo, West Jakarta, with his wife and five children:

I think journalists search for the truth, so they deserve the
respect of everyone.

I believe that journalists try to expose newsworthy items and
publish truthful information.

They expose irregularities and people involved in corruption,
including government officials. If someone is unhappy with a
critical article, I think there are lots of ways to resolve the
situation other than violence.

On the other hand, the security apparatus often isn't
professional and often resorts to force. This causes them to act
harshly and arrogantly when dealing with ordinary people,
including journalists.

They don't feel guilty about their actions because they are so
arrogant. They wash their hands of incidents where civilians or
journalists are victimized.

I'm sure that in cases of violence, many innocent people have
been blamed for things done by security personnel.

Indeed, I think finding the truth now is pretty impossible.
The only thing that is possible is to commit acts of violence and
brutality. People now are selfish and thoughtless.

Ndoko, not his real name, 27, is a police intelligence officer
in South Jakarta. He lives in Bekasi with his wife:

Honestly speaking, when I work in the field and encounter
crowds of people, like protesters, I just follow the orders of my
superior.

However, there have been times when I personally could no
longer stand to hear a crowd mocking us. Lots of times people
provoke us into attacking them.

Most low-ranking police officers like me are caught in a
difficult situation, between trying to be professional and
dealing with what is really going on.

Police officers get upset when journalists take pictures of us
beating or kicking somebody. I hate to be exposed like that.

As soon as these kinds of pictures are published, our
commander will call us in to question us. This results in
punishment and slower promotion through the ranks.

So sometimes we prefer to stop the photographer rather than be
punished by our superiors. That's why police officers are easily
irritated and beat journalists.

Worse, many times journalists make the police mad by
exaggerating the news. Of course this upsets us, because the news
seems to be harmful to the police.

But basically we don't get too upset about an article. We
just face these dilemmas when we are out in the field.

Roy, 27, works as an artist at the Taman Ismail Marzuki Arts
Center in Central Jakarta. He also lives near the arts center:

In my opinion, journalists who are doing their jobs are not
guilty of anything. They are only seeking the truth.

The news they print sometimes displeases a certain party or
institution found to be dishonest. And when people and
institutions become worried about having their dishonesty
exposed, they do the only thing they can think of, namely
terrorizing, intimidating or attacking journalists.

And violence against journalists will only hurt the image of
businessmen. They could go through the courts if they don't agree
with an article and avoid using violence. Dialog is the most
elegant resolution, I guess.

I worry that if the violence against press continues,
journalists will start going on strike. If that happens, I
wouldn't have anything to read or watch. It would be terrible to
live without news.

In the Tempo case, the security forces should be blamed for
failing to do anything to stop the mob. Why do they even bother
to wear uniforms if they are only going to side with the powerful
and the rich? I think they are puppets for the rulers, doing
whatever they can to please them.

-- Leo Wahyudi S