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)