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.