President to open first PWI-R meet

President to open first PWI-R meet

SEMARANG (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid is slated to open
the first congress of PWI Reformasi, a splinter group of the
Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI), in Bandungan, Semarang,
Central Java on Wednesday, organizers said.

PWI Reformasi is to accommodate demands for reform within the
country's press industry as well as those of its workers, said
the congress' organizing chief, Kastoyo Ramelan.

Kastoyo said on Sunday that speakers in the congress would
include Eros Djarot of the weekly tabloid Detak, businessman
Setiawan Djody and poet W.S. Rendra.

The three-day congress is also slated to form the
organization's statute and executive board.

According to Kastoyo, among the candidates for the
chairmanship were August Parengkuan of Kompas, Fikri Jufri of
Tempo magazine, Parni Hadi of the Antara news agency and Saur
Hutabarat of Media Indonesia.

"This congress is a reaction against the current PWI which
lacks democratic vision and is always totalitarian. We want to
renew the spirit of democracy and independence as well as to
empower fellow journalists with better welfare, morality, dignity
and responsibility," Kastoyo said. (har/edt)