Students support 'SCTV' coverage

Students support 'SCTV' coverage

JAKARTA (JP): About 30 students went to SCTV's office in West
Jakarta on Friday to express their support for the station. Their
visit was in response to a demonstration on Wednesday by the
Islamic Committee for Press Monitoring (KUPP) which accused the
station of being "one-sided".

The latter group had demanded that Surya Citra Televisi revert
to its independent and objective coverage, which it said had been
stained by its report of Nov. 11. The report was of a clash
during student demonstrations which led to several soldiers being
hit by a car driven by a student.

The student deliberately hit the soldiers while SCTV reported
otherwise, KUPP said.

The students said "intimidation" of the press should be
stopped. "Ira Koesno is my idol," read a poster, referring to one
of the station's anchors.

A spokesman of PT Datacom Asia, Eddi Elison, also denied
reports that people close to President B.J. Habibie or other
government officials would buy SCTV shares.

He said that 47.5 percent of the company's shares were owned
by PT Datacom Asia. The other shareholders are Sudwikatmono and
Henry Pribadi.

PT Datacom Asia's shareholders are PT Asri Land, PT Persada
Giri Abadi, PT Lembah Subur Adi Pertiwi, PT Azbindo Nusadara, PT
Indosat, and PT Tri Satnawa Solusi Komunikasi, he said.

Shareholders of PT Datacom Asia, the holding company of SCTV
and Matahari Lintas Cakrawala which operates cable TV service
Indovision, also include Peter Gontha and Bambang Trihatmodjo, a
source said. (sim)