RI media greet press freedom day with concern

RI media greet press freedom day with concern

JAKARTA (JP): Repression and minimal respect for the
journalism profession are among the causes of concern for the
Indonesian media as it greets World Press Freedom Day today,
according to an observer.

Senior journalist Atmakusumah acknowledged in an interview
with Antara yesterday that efforts to facilitate the freedom of
the press have been made by both the government and society but
several incidents have shown much was still wanting.

The murder of Yogyakarta journalist Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin
in 1996, which remains unsolved, was a case in point, said
Atmakusumah, who is also the director of the Dr. Soetomo Press
Institute.

"Freedom of expression through the mass media is still limited
(by the existence of the) publishing license (SIUPP)... and the
law on the press and its regulations.

"The situation calls for our concern as we commemorate world
press freedom day," he said.

In 1994, three weeklies -- Tempo, Editor, and DeTik, had their
licenses revoked -- a move which effectively killed the
publications.

Atmakusumah remained optimistic that harassment, arrests and
even murder, which constitute some of the risks facing Indonesian
journalists, were not government policies but rather aberrations
committed by lower-level officials.

"In order to be protected from any actions that may cause
either physical or psychological suffering, (journalists) need to
be so careful," he said.

The Indonesian media has been rapped over the knuckles several
times in the last few months. President Soeharto has, on several
occasions, gone on the record criticizing them for, among other
things, publishing inaccurate reports.

Reuters reported from New York that the leaders of Nigeria,
Myanmar, Belarus, Cuba and Indonesia were among 10 "enemies of
the press" named Thursday by the Committee to Protect Journalists
(CPJ).

The New York-based non-profit organization that seeks to
safeguard press freedom said the list of leaders from around the
world were selected "for their relentless campaigns of
suppression of journalists".

The leaders of the ten countries "are intent upon suppressing
any independent media voice, through whatever means necessary,"
CPJ executive director William Orne Jr. said in a statement.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a statement to
mark World Press Freedom Day, defined the freedom of the press as
something that "ultimately implies freedom for reporters,
broadcasters and editors to work without interference or coercion
-- governmental, political or commercial -- in telling the true
story."

"It means the freedom to report events or express opinions
guided solely by the highest standards of professional ethics,"
he said. "Only then can journalists be assured of their role in
sensitizing the conscience of societies and in protecting the
rights of individuals in all spheres."

He cited CPJ data that 26 journalists were murdered in 1997
and 129 imprisoned. "Over the past decade, the organization has
reported the murders of 474 journalists," Annan said.

Antara reported that Director General of UNESCO Federico Mayor
said that any setback for freedom of expression and freedom of
the press was a setback for democracy.

The organization "will place itself at the disposal of both
sides when conflicts arise. It will pressure governments to
investigate serious violations and it will help to fund
observatories to assist the free exercise of the profession of
journalism," Mayor said in a statement.

Only well-informed people can take their destiny in hand,
participate in the democratic functioning of the institutions and
work for enduring peace.

According to Mayor, World Press Freedom Day is of special
importance this year as the world is also celebrating the
fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. (swe)