Public warned of co-opted press

JAKARTA (JP): Three prominent Indonesian scholars are warning the public to beware of passively accepting everything they read in news publications because some of them may have been co-opted by vested interests.

"To all members of society, we appeal that you be more critical towards the institution of the press, so that you may distinguish between the press media which have been co-opted by the system imposed by those in power and the press which truly seeks to build as a public institution," Umar Kayam, Ishadi Siregar and Emha Ainun Najib said in a joint statement distributed to the press.

The statement, entitled End of the Year 1994 Statement on the State of the Culture, was initially presented to the public at the Senisono Art Center in Yogyakarta on Tuesday.

It said that as far as cultural development goes, 1994 has been worse than earlier years.

The three men are known for their critical approaches to the government. Umar is an expert on literature, Ashadi is an expert in communication and Emha is a writer and poet.

To illustrate their point on the development of the press, they pointed out the closure of three weekly magazines in June this year. They view the banning as an attempt to bring the press under absolute control.

"The banning, whatever reasons may have been given, terminated the rights of the people to take part in political life," they said.

They charged that the government's efforts to control the press have brought people into a situation colored by "the culture of injustice" in information and communication.

"The opportunities to create and develop the institution of information is in the hands of a few people who gain special rights from the power holders," they said. "There is inequality in the way information is dispersed."

They urged publications to make every effort to become information institutions that treat and serve the public as if they have the right to fair information.

They warned journalists not to let the press become a subordinate of the powers that be.

They called on the government to show serious commitment to supporting the fair distribution of information by respecting the right of people to establish press institutions. (sim)