Press freedom in peril

Press freedom in peril

Charges of abuse of freedom which have been hurled at the
media from several quarters in recent months only go to show how
precarious press freedom still is in this country even in the
reform era, and how unused we are to the workings of a democratic
society.

One of the first and most scathing public attacks came in
January from none other than President B.J. Habibie. In his
speech presenting the state budget to the House of
Representatives, of all places, he urged legislators to pay
attention to the media's abuse of newly instituted reforms which
exceeded tolerable boundaries.

The latest to earn the wrath of some lesser leading
personalities in our political elite are the Jakarta newspapers
Sinar Pagi and Merdeka -- the first for calling Golkar's recent
party declaration during a mass rally at the Senayan sports
stadium "bland", the second for reporting that the rain-drenched
event was "struck by lightning".

To some extent, such sensitivity to unflattering publicity is
entirely understandable. After all, it has been less than 10
months since this nation was freed from the yoke of 32 years of
dictatorial rule under the New Order regime.

What makes the whole thing rather deplorable is that besides
President Habibie, who has the power to curb existing freedoms,
the strongest condemnation of the so-called abuse of freedom has
so far come from legislators. This is despite the fact they are
supposed to understand that, as the late American President
Franklin D. Roosevelt put it, some of the fundamentals of
democracy would be nullified should freedom of the press ever be
successfully challenged.

It is ironic in the extreme to hear Minister of Information
Muhammad Yunus come to the defense of press freedom during a
House hearing on Monday, fending off legislators' griping that
too much freedom was turning many press publications into
"provocateurs who confuse the people and incite them to commit
acts of mass brutality".

To be sure, not all of the innumerable newspapers, tabloids
and newsmagazines that have appeared since Soeharto's resignation
last May have exercised the same degree of restraint and
responsibility in their reporting of current events in this
country. Quite a number have indeed gone overboard in their
efforts to attract the attention of readers, using sensational
reports and headlines that could cause some faces to turn red
with rage or embarrassment.

However, as Muhammad Yunus correctly pointed out, there are
laws to protect people against libel and using them would serve
the interests of the community better than curbing the press. As
for allegations of media-induced acts of mass brutality, the
minister challenged the legislators to produce proof.

All of which merely reaffirms that despite the freedom the
Indonesian media enjoys at present, this most fundamental of
liberties is still not something it can take for granted.
Instead, it must be constantly watched and worked for.

Self-evident though it may seem, there is the need to
constantly point out that there has not been a single case so far
of media-induced mass disorder or "brutality". This in itself is
heartening proof the Indonesian public in general is capable of
sorting out the trustworthy from the questionable, more so,
perhaps, than some of our better educated and better positioned
legislators and officials.