Publishing state secrets?

Publishing state secrets?

From Rakyat Merdeka

The Nov. 25-Dec. 1, 2002 edition of Tempo totally unveils the
findings of Indonesia's intelligence personnel, especially those
working for the State Intelligence Agency (BIN).

This magazine exposes the telephone interception tracking of
Al Faruq, BIN's report book and the picture of a house it claims
is a BIN agent's residence in the Bandung area. So far BIN has
made no denial, except for Tempo's interview with Muchyar Yara,
assistant to BIN's chief spokesman.

BIN may deem it unnecessary to respond to the controversial
Tempo report to avoid any negative effect on society. As a
citizen with no particular knowledge of journalism and
intelligence, I personally share the attitude shown by BIN.

The question is now: Has Tempo done the right thing by
completely revealing what the intelligence agency has discovered
and achieved?

The answer is no. Whatever forms of operation conducted by the
agency and whatever results arise from them, belong to the
category of classified information and can only be published at
least 30 years after the cases emerge. In other words, Tempo has
violated the code of ethics of Indonesian journalists.

NURHADI SUBIJANTO, Sydney, Australia