Press Council asks 3 publications to print apologies to Laksmana
Press Council asks 3 publications to print apologies to Laksmana
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Three media outlets violated the Code of Ethics of Indonesian
Journalists (KEWI) in publishing articles about State Minister
for State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi and therefore must
apologize to him, the Press Council decided on Wednesday.
Press Council executive Sabam Leo Batubara said that the three
-- Trust magazine, Nusa daily and the Reporter daily -- had
violated the presumption of innocence principle in suggesting
that Laksamana had left the country with more than US$100 million
in state money.
"Based on the Press Council's [review], the three media groups
violated the KEWI, and so, we recommend that each of them publish
a public apology for Laksamana," Batubara told Antara in Kupang,
East Nusa Tenggara.
He said the article Laksamana, why should you run away?
(Laksamana, kenapa harus kabur?) and the cover headline Uproar
over Laksamana 'Running Away' written in the Sept. 27th-Oct. 3rd
edition of Trust magazine were deemed to be disrespectful and
violated the principle of innocent-until-proven-guilty as there
was no supporting evidence within the articles.
The article Laksamana deserves to be incarcerated (Laksamana
pantas ditangkap) published in the Sept. 28th edition of the
Reporter daily was also considered a violation of the principle.
"The Reporter daily wrote that Laksamana was part of a "mafia"
with a headline accusing him of crime. The police -- not
journalists -- are the ones who have the right to determine
whether or not a person is a criminal," said Batubara.
As for the Nusa daily, he said that its article Laksamana is
rumored to have fled the country (Laksamana diisukan kabur ke
luar negeri) and its lead item that accused Laksamana of fleeing
the country with $125 million of state funds in its Sept. 24th
edition was slanderous for quoting a source who sent the
information via a short messaging service (SMS).
"The apology shall be placed on the same page of where the
articles were published and it shall be at least the same size as
the articles," he said.
Trust magazine chief editor Bambang Aji Setiady said his
company had been told on Monday by the Press Council of the
recommendation.
"We received a letter inviting us to meet with Laksamana on
Friday at 9:30 a.m.," said Bambang.
He said that he would not mind making a public apology to
Laksamana.
"But we demand fairness in this case. A lot of media,
including Gatra magazine, had a week earlier reported similarly
on Laksamana. Why are we the only ones who are to make a public
apology?" he asked.
In the Sept. 25th edition of Gatra weekly, there were
investigative reports that drew a link between a series of
lottery-like quizzes about President Megawati Soekarnoputri's
campaign with several state enterprises.
If they refuse the Press Council's recommendation, the media
could be sued by Laksamana and pay Rp 100 billion (US$10.9
million) in material and non-material damages.
Laksamana filed a complaint to the Press Council last week
against the media groups and Rakyat Merdeka and Indo Pos dailies
for their articles, arguing that the articles were written based
on rumors.