'Suara Pembaruan' lawsuit rejected

JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta State Administrative High Court yesterday rejected a lawsuit by Suara Pembaruan publisher, PT Media Interaksi Utama (PT MIU), against the Central Committee for Settling Labor Disputes' (P4P) decision ordering the publisher to reinstate seven journalists it suspended last year.

The court endorsed the committee's decision that the company must back pay the journalists' salaries from Nov. 16 last year when they were suspended.

In yesterday's session, Presiding Judge Fatimah Achjar rejected PT MIU's request that the realization of the committee's decision be postponed from April 24 to a later date pending the completion of the court proceedings on the case.

"There are no strong legal reasons for us to postpone the realization of the decision," Fatimah said.

This means the decision must be immediately carried out.

Meanwhile Suara Pembaruan Chief Editor Sutarno said the paper would appeal to the Supreme Court.

"In rejecting the lawsuit the court has failed to provide adequate and strong legal reasons," he said.

The seven journalists -- Petron Curie, Kooswadi, Isaac Sinjal, Constantinus De Gani, Djadjan Saputra, Charles Manurung and Nelson Simanjuntak -- were suspended in November last year for a lack of discipline. The management of the evening daily even tried to dismiss the newsmen, but the move was rejected by the P4P, which on April 24 ordered the newspaper to reinstate the journalists and to pay their back salaries in full. (bas/sur)