Prosecution seeks two years for 'Tempo' chief editor

Leony Aurora, Jakarta

Prosecutors requested on Monday that Tempo chief editor Bambang Harymurti be sentenced to two years in jail for provoking social unrest and defaming businessman Tomy Winata.

They also requested that Bambang be taken into custody immediately after his conviction.

In a hearing at the Central Jakarta District Court, prosecutor Bastian Hutabarat said the disputed article Is Tomy in Tenabang?, published last year, contained false information, yet Bambang approved its publication without reconfirming facts.

As chief editor, he must have anticipated that the article would cause a stir, said the prosecutors.

The article suggested that business tycoon Tomy was behind the February 2003 fire that razed Tanah Abang textile market, Central Jakarta, by presenting Tomy's proposal to renovate the market in an insinuating context. Tomy had submitted the proposal a few months before the incident.

Bambang and two other journalists of the weekly have been charged under Article 14 of the Criminal Code on spreading false information and knowingly provoking social disorder, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years. They have also been charged under Articles 310 and 311 on defamation, which carries a maximum sentence of four years.

"(The article) was false, as Tomy Winata never submitted any proposal to renovate Tanah Abang market," said a prosecutor, citing the testimonies of Tomy and Central Jakarta Mayor Hosea Petra Lumbun.

The article quoted Tomy denying the existence of such a proposal. Tempo journalist Ahmad Taufik, who wrote the article, said he saw the proposal, but was unable to reproduce it.

Meanwhile, Tomy testified that he had never been interviewed by Tempo.

In response to the prosecution's charges, Tempo lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis said that in journalism, there was no absolute truth.

"As long as the news covers both sides and concerns the public interest, it can be published," he said.

Prosecutors presented Tanah Abang traders who became angry at Tomy after reading the article as proof of public unrest.

Other evidence included a demonstration held by employees of Artha Graha -- Tomy's bank -- at Tempo offices and a summons issued to Tomy by the House of Representatives over the matter.

Bambang alleged the evidence was "forced", and reminded the court that the freedom of press was being threatened.

"Next time a man in power dislikes your reports about him and sends men to attack your offices and cause unrest, (remember) you too can be charged with spreading news that provokes social disorder," he told reporters after the four-hour hearing.

Tempo lawyers asked for a month to prepare their defense, considering the importance of the case.

The court awarded them three weeks and scheduled the next session for Aug. 9.

On July 26, the same court will hear the case of Ahmad Taufik and Teuku Iskandar Ali, who are charged under the same articles as Bambang, to hear the prosecution's sentencing request.