Persecution, not prosecution

Persecution, not prosecution

The spring of hope, and the winter of despair. These are the
mixed emotions that enunciate the prevailing paradox of our
present society. On the eve of the high mark of our young
democracy, the Central Jakarta District Court yesterday sentenced
Tempo chief editor Bambang Harymurti to one year in jail for
libel against well-connected businessman Tomy Winata. The judge
ruled that based on the Criminal Code, the magazine was guilty of
defamation and inciting unrest through its article Is Tomy in
Tenabang?

If there is any silver lining to this event, it is that
Bambang was not immediately incarcerated and two other Tempo
journalists in the case -- Ahmad Taufik and Teuku Iskandar Ali --
were relieved of blame, as in the court's view, responsibility
for the article was solely the chief editor's.

The verdict is a blow to press freedom, a grim prelude for
freedom of expression, and derisive toward the court's already
battered reputation.

We have nothing but contempt for the verdict. The case was so
blatantly one of reasonable doubt and contradiction that the
court should never have heard it in the first place. Witnesses
and lawyers for the defense have raised too many questions over
the validity of the case -- so many points of contention that the
guilty verdict leaves us stunned.

We can only conclude that it was a case of persecution -- not
prosecution -- against Tempo.

The hope is that this latest tragedy is not an omen of things
to come, rather an anomaly in our basic right of freedom of
expression. While we trust the higher courts will be more sober
in deliberating the eventual appeal, the success in criminally
prostrating one the biggest and most reputable news organizations
in the country speaks volumes on the dangers lurking for anyone
who is engaged in the written word.

What is at stake here is not simply the pride of a journalist
but the maturity of our democracy. This system -- "democracy" --
will only bloom if the general electorate has access to
information. Elections, one of the fundamental components of
democracy, are about making an informed choice. But, that will
only happen if people are free to debate, to address the public,
to express their views -- both verbally and in writing.

The chilling effect will be felt by all news organizations
performing their public duty as the Fourth Estate, all
journalists exposing injustice and all opinion writers with a
point of view.

The press is not above the law. Freedom of expression does not
preclude legal prosecution. But, given the uniqueness of
journalism as a profession, it is beyond comprehension that
judges chose to allow the case to be tried using the Criminal
Law. Appropriately, the 1999 Press Law would have been the most
suitable basis for such a case. Even Chief Justice Bagir Manan
has urged his fellow judges to apply the Press Law in such
proceedings.

No human being is infallible, and neither are journalists or
news organizations. Their profession is made all the more
precarious as what they seek to print is often covert, or sought
under strict deadline. Despite these pressures, journalists are
bound by a code of ethics that requires them to publish the best
obtainable version of the truth. In this day and age, it is as
important to write the truth about facts as it is to report the
facts truthfully.

We believe that while some may contend the facts of Tempo's
report Is Tomy in Tenabang?, the weekly heeded journalistic
principles in writing the truth about the best obtainable facts
at hand.

Journalism does not have the luxury of extended intellectual
musings or the prolonged intensity of academic research. It can
never tell the whole story in a single edition. It is a process
of layered fact-gathering that becomes prone to libel. But, the
great news stories of our time -- Watergate, the Abu Ghraib
prison scandal -- have shown that practical truth is protean and
develops piece by piece, like a great jigsaw puzzle.

For these reasons, it is necessary that the Press Law be at
the heart of legal proceedings on issues concerning the press.
The criminalization of the press stems from a fascist mentality,
which only serves to stifle thought and perpetuate an autocracy.