PWI unimpressed with new press guidelines

JAKARTA (JP): The chairman of the Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) has urged Minister of Information Muhammad Yunus Yosfiah to scrap a new decree that empowers the government to freeze the publishing licenses of newspapers and magazines.

Sofyan Lubis said on Saturday the decree -- which replaces a much-criticized 1984 ministerial decree that authorized the government to revoke press licenses -- was open to interpretation and could cause similar problems for the press in the future.

Sofyan, also the chief editor of the popular Pos Kota daily in Jakarta, said Article 23 of the new decree still allowed the government to freeze licenses for "a certain period of time".

This clause, he said, could be abused by the government to ban a publication.

"The article does not guarantee freedom of the press since it contains various administrative sanctions against the press," Sofyan said as reported by Antara.

Yunus simplified licensing procedures and abolished the requirements that all publications must get recommendations from the PWI and the Union of Press Publishers (SPS).

He scrapped 16 procedures required to obtain a new license and ended the monopoly of PWI as the sole organization for journalists. He also promised to review the press law as soon as possible.

Yunus said he would go to court if he chose to discipline a press publisher who violated the law.

While media executives welcomed the gesture, they feared that the next information minister would not necessarily be as supportive of press freedoms as Yunus was.

The decree still does not meet our expectations, Sofyan said. "It still needs revisions." (prb)