Rights body prepares revision for broadcasting bill
Rights body prepares revision for broadcasting bill
Kurniawan Hari
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
Human rights activists have joined the increasing calls for a
complete revision of the contentious broadcasting bill, saying
that many articles in the bill are against press freedom and the
public's right to information, as stipulated in the amended 1945
Constitution.
Rights activists said here on Thursday they would submit a
draft revision to the House of Representatives (DPR) to enable it
to make the necessary revisions before it was endorsed in
November.
Member of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM)
Achmad Ali confirmed on Thursday that the commission had formed a
team to specifically deal with the matter.
"We have agreed to push for revisions to repressive articles
in the broadcasting bill. If there is no revision, the public
will not accept it," Achmad told The Jakarta Post by phone.
Achmad was referring to a meeting between rights activists and
the broadcasting community on the bill. The meeting was attended
by Komnas HAM chairman Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara and
commission members Mohammad Farid, Chandra Setiawan, Achmad and
the broadcasting community.
Earlier Abdul Hakim said that the bill ought to adopt articles
that guaranteed protection of human rights.
Leo Batubara, who spoke at the meeting, meanwhile emphasized
that the government ought to make revisions or delay endorsement
of the bill.
According to Leo, from the Indonesian Press and Broadcasting
Society (MPPI), the government has tried to improve its control
over the media through articles in the broadcasting bill.
He pointed out that there were at least 15 articles from which
the government could intervene in broadcasting affairs.
He added that the articles were all against article 28 F of
the amended 1945 Constitution.
The Constitution states that the right to communicate and the
right to seek, obtain, possess, keep, arrange or convey
information is the right of every citizen.
Unfortunately, the government has been trying to use the
broadcasting bill to strengthen its control over the media and to
place limitations on public access to information.
"Many articles in the broadcasting bill show the strong
dominance of the government," Leo told the Post.
The bill was first deliberated in 2000, but shows no signs of
conclusion as of today. The long period of deliberation is mainly
blamed on both the government and legislators for ignoring public
aspirations.
They not only ignored the aspirations of the people, but were
unable to synchronize their own opinions. This caused legislator
Astrid Susanto to leave the meeting room, avoiding the working
meeting on Sept. 25 with State Minister for Communications and
Information Syamsul Muarif.
She and fellow legislators protested against changes made by
the government without consultation.
Syamsul claimed that the changes were made to accommodate the
aspirations of the broadcasting community, a statement which was
refuted by Leo.
Leo acknowledged that there had been some progress on the
content of the bill, including the government's acceptance of
community-based broadcasting stations and limitations on media
cross-ownership.
However, Leo emphasized that the basic content of the bill was
an attempt to control the media.
Besides revision of some repressive articles, Achmad added,
the government and legislators had to drop articles that had been
adopted in the Criminal Code.
He said the broadcasting bill ought not to incorporate
articles on pornography and character assassination because they
had been inserted into the Criminal Code. "Those matters will be
handled by the police. There is no need to insert them into the
broadcasting bill," said Achmad.
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Contentious articles
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- Article 17: regulation on the number and coverage of local,
regional and national broadcasting stations and media cross-
ownership
- Article 28: issuance of licenses
- Article 29: guidance for broadcasters
- Article 30: networking
- Article 31: broadcasting equipment
- Article 55: appointment of civil servants to launch inquiries
and close down broadcasting stations.
- Article 61: will be stipulated further in government decree
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