PWI asserts its claim as the only body of journalists
PWI asserts its claim as the only body of journalists
MAGELANG, Central Java (JP): The Association of Indonesian
Journalists (PWI) claims to be the profession's only
organization, with chairman Sofjan Lubis yesterday appealing to
all journalists to join for their own protection.
"There is no other journalist association besides PWI," said
Sofjan, who was here to attend a reception marking National Press
Day.
He said that the recent arrests of three journalists by police
in Jakarta for publishing a clandestine magazine had been
particularly awkward for his organization because they were not
members. "PWI has nothing to do with them. If they belonged to
PWI, they would get protection because the law guarantees that
each member is entitled to legal protection."
He warned that several other journalists associated with the
offensive publication outside of Jakarta may also be arrested by
the authorities.
His appeal and warning came after the Jakarta chapter of the
association sacked 13 of its members from the organization for
their participation in the Alliance of Independent Journalists
(AJI), which also published the periodical found offensive by the
government.
Sofjan, who is chief editor of the Jakarta-based Pos Kota
daily, asked PWI members to stay calm and avoid getting trapped
by unfounded rumors which have recently been emerging.
Sofjan also asked the public to be open to journalists "so
everyone can do their job well".
He said that if government officials consider certain news
reports to be unbalanced or inaccurate, they should not
immediately blame journalists. "Maybe, (the inaccuracy) is caused
by the official's own fault of being too closed or providing
inadequate information," he explained.
He also asked journalists to rely not only on their profession
but on artistic values as well. "Journalists should be able to
work well with the public and the government and become good
researchers, collectors, selectors and presenters of news."
On Sunday, Sofjan joined in the current fray against preman,
the Indonesian term for hoodlums, particularly those who may have
infiltrated the journalistic profession.
He was quoted by Antara news agency as saying in Surabaya,
East Java, that he would personally "whack" journalists who use
their power to intimidate, threaten or blackmail people. "If we
have solid evidence of behavior like that... let us beat them up
together," he said.
He considered such misconduct a "disgrace to PWI".
PWI would prevent its members from engaging in such behavior,
he said.
He was convinced, however, that individuals with such an
attitude only claim to be journalists. "Our (real) journalists
have been taught about the ethics of journalism." (har/pwn)