Press protesters warned to stay off the streets

Press protesters warned to stay off the streets

JAKARTA (JP): Police yesterday vowed to crack down hard on new
street demonstrations as the nation took a respite following days
of protests and counter protests over the government's ban
against three news weeklies.

"We'll stop them again the same way," Jakarta Police Chief
Maj. Gen. Moch. Hindarto told reporters yesterday, referring to
the clamp down on protesters on Monday which left several people
injured and led to the arrests of dozens of people.

"If they want a contest of power, they'll have it."

Hindarto said police had to resort to the use of force to
quell two demonstrations on Monday because they were illegal.
"Any demonstration must have the police permit beforehand."

The Jakarta Police chief was present at the time his force
moved to quell the demonstration and made the arrests on Monday.

Goenawan Mohamad, the director of Tempo, one of the three
banned magazines, responded to Hindarto's threat last night
saying that protesters would have no chance against the police.

"If it comes to a contest of force, we'll lose. How can we
win?" Goenawan said.

The other two magazines that lost their publishing licenses
were DeTIK and Editor.

Meanwhile, the Central Jakarta District Court yesterday held
speedy trials for 21 people, including vocal poet W.S. Rendra,
who were taken into custody at two separate demonstrations on
Monday.

One teenager was acquitted and the other 20 were fined Rp
2,000 (less than $1) each or face five days imprisonment after
the court found them guilty of creating a public disturbance.

Rendra and the seven members of his Bengkel (workshop) Teater
group decided to accept the verdict and pay the fines but not
before insisting on making a little speech.

"What I wanted to say was that the government's move to revoke
the licenses of the three magazines without upholding legal
procedures is dangerous because the laws have not been upheld,"
Rendra said in the trial, justifying his presence at the
demonstration.

Later he told journalists before leaving the court building
that he had no qualms with the trial. "It's good. I enjoyed
popular support for my cause and even the judge saw it as
something positive."

The other twelve protesters, mostly activists and students,
said they were appealing the guilty verdicts in the higher court.
They were released but might have to serve four days in jail if
the high court upholds the verdict.

"The court proceeding is the greatest joke of the year," said
Luhut Pangaribuan, one of lawyers from the Indonesian Legal Aid
Foundation (YLBHI) who represented the defendants.

Police however still detained vocal activist Beathor Suryadi
of the Pijar Foundation and he now faces more serious charges as
he had breached the term of his conditional release.

Police sources said that Beathor could be charged with
producing provocative leaflets.

Beathor, whom his colleagues said was injured in the scuffle
with police on Monday, was still under probation after his
release from jail last year. He was also serving time for
distributing leaflets to discredit President Soeharto.

Losses

The only demonstration of the press ban yesterday took place
in front of the National Commission on Human Rights when some 35
newspaper sellers and news agents turned up along with
journalists of the three banned magazines.

They said the weeklies, particularly DeTIK which had the
largest circulation of 450,000, had been their prime source of
income and the government bans would mean substantial losses in
earnings.

The demonstration was joined by a number of workers of shoe
factories in Tangerang and Bekasi, who turned up to express their
disappointment at the ban since the three magazines had given
extensive coverage about labor problems in the country.

The Association of Indonesian Journalists (PWI) yesterday
expressed concern that the growing street protests would only
muddle rather than solve the problem.

In a statement signed by deputy chairman Tribuana Said and
Secretary General Parni Hadi, PWI called on its members to use
the organization to solve the problem.

The Association of Catholic Students (PMKRI) yesterday sent
its representatives to the House of Representatives to express
their disappointment at the ban.

At the YLBHI, about 30 journalists and activists from various
non-governmental organizations pledged to continue their push for
freedom of the press. (pan/11/bsr/arf)