Police not sorry, will appeal order
Police not sorry, will appeal order
M. Taufiqurrahman and Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta
In a slight victory for press freedom and the reform movement in
general, a judge at the Central Jakarta District Court ruled on
Monday that the National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar and
several of his deputies must publicly apologize to the
journalists of Tempo weekly for not protecting them from violence
in an attack last March.
The ruling was in response to demands filed by the Jakarta
chapter of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), in
which the assaulted journalists are members.
Besides the National Police chief, the court also ordered the
Jakarta Police chief, the Central Jakarta Police chief and the
Menteng Police chief, to make public apologies in all national
newspapers and magazines, five television stations and five radio
stations in the next 14 days.
The apology must also be addressed to AJI Jakarta.
However, the court rejected the plaintiff's demands to issue
an asset preservation order of the National Police Headquarters
on Jl. Trunojoyo, South Jakarta, and the inclusion of the
national Press Law in the curriculum of the police academy.
The March 8 attack by supporters of businessman Tomy Winata,
who were enraged by an article insinuating that their boss may
have profited from the fire that razed Tanah Abang textile market
in February, led to the assault, in full view of the police, of
chief editor Bambang Harymurti and reporter Abdul Manan, despite
the fact that the police were on the scene and had been informed
of it beforehand.
Another panel of judges, however, may have set back press
freedom at the same district court as they exonerated protest
leader David Tjioe on assault charges, and gave his deputy Teddi
Hidayat a lenient sentence of four months in jail with nine
months of suspension.
"The police failed to carry out their duties to protect the
journalists from assaults by David Tjioe and Teddi Hidayat
committed at the Tempo office and at the Central Jakarta Police
office," presiding judge Iskandar Tjakke said, adding that such
negligence constituted a violation of the police's legal
obligation.
Lawyer Azas Tigor Nainggolan, who coordinates AJI's team of
lawyers grouped in the Committee of Defenders of Press Freedom
(KPKP), hailed the ruling which he said offered a ray of hope.
"In this corrupt judicial system, we can still find judges who
listen to their conscience and stand for freedom."
Fellow lawyer Tubagus Haryo Karbyanto said the ruling would
affect the ongoing trial on Tempo journalists who are charged
with defaming Tomy. The ruling, he said, may also affect the
court rulings on David Tjioe and Teddi Hidayat in the appeal
process.
The police lawyer, Rudi Heryanto, apparently not in favor of
having his clients asked to say sorry, said his team would file
an appeal.
"We doubt that an organization like the AJI has the
credibility to file a lawsuit. It is not like the Indonesian
Consumer Foundation (YLKI) or the Indonesian Environmental Forum
(WALHI) which are designated by the existing laws to represent
their constituents."
He claimed that much of the new evidence presented by defense
lawyers was not taken into consideration by the judges.
Contacted separately, National Police spokesman Sr. Comr.
Zainuri Lubis said that police would abide by the court's ruling.
"The court have ruled in favor of AJI and the police will meet
the required demand in the case," he said.
However, Zainuri said the top police officials would not
personally apologize for any mistakes made by their personnel in
the field, saying that police investigators in the Tempo attack
would make apologies for their mistake.
"The police investigators will meet the demand as required by
the court's ruling as they have been appointed to represent
police officials," he said.