Singgih awaits Harmoko's word on 'Tempo' case

Singgih awaits Harmoko's word on 'Tempo' case

JAKARTA (JP): Attorney General Singgih yesterday said he had
not yet received word from Minister of Information Harmoko on
whether to contest a high court ruling in the legal battle
against Tempo news magazine.

Singgih, who represented Harmoko in the court case, said
Harmoko had not made his intention known.

"Whether or not an appeal is filed will mainly depend on the
on the Minister of Information," he told reporters after
installing three top-ranking officials in the Attorney General
Office.

He said he had not yet received a copy of the high court's
verdict in the Tempo case.

The Jakarta High Administrative Court last week upheld the
Jakarta State Administrative Court's ruling last May that found
Harmoko's decision to revoke the publishing license of Tempo to
be unconstitutional.

Last May the lower court ordered the minister to return the
license to the magazine's proprietors.

Harmoko filed an appeal with the high court and lost. Now his
only recourse is to file an appeal with the Supreme Court. The
minister had not yet given a public response to the defeat.

In June 1994 Tempo and two other weeklies, Editor and DeTik,
were closed down by the government.

During the court hearing, the government said the nature of
some of Tempo's articles endangered national stability.

Senior officials of the ministry said the government respected
the court's decision but they did not rule out the possibility of
an appeal.

Emphasized

Both Singgih and Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman have
emphasized the high court's ruling on the case is not final.

"The Minister of Information Harmoko can still file an appeal
to the Supreme Court. Let us wait and see whether he will use his
right to file the appeal," Oetojo said yesterday.

Yesterday, Singgih installed I Nyoman Suwandha, formerly
deputy attorney general for General Crimes, as Deputy for General
Affairs. Suwandha replaces Mohammad Hasan, who has retired.

B.T.P. Siregar, formerly secretary to the Deputy Attorney
General for Intelligence Affairs, was installed as Deputy
Attorney General for Special Crimes, replacing Suwandha.

Suyoto, formerly secretary to the Deputy Attorney General for
Special Crimes, was appointed Deputy Attorney General for
Development Affairs. He replaced Mochammad Sutadi who has
retired. (01/imn)