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)