'Suara Pembaruan' lawsuit rejected

'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)