'Suara Pembaruan' staff file lawsuit
'Suara Pembaruan' staff file lawsuit
JAKARTA (JP): Journalists at Suara Pembaruan, one of Indonesia's oldest and leading newspapers, have accused its general manager and publisher of libeling them by wiping their names from the daily's mast head.
Seven journalists, who have worked for the newspaper for between seven and 18 years, blamed General Manager Albert Hasibuan and PT Media Interaksi Utama, the publishing company, for the libel.
They said they are still working for the newspaper but their names have been removed from the editorial staff membership since Jan. 2.
"They have damaged our reputation as journalists," Petron Curie Nadeak, the group's leader told reporters after a hearing of the suit at the East Jakarta district court. The hearing is the culmination of the two-year-old case.
Hasibuan, who is also a member of the National Committee of Human Rights and of the House of Representatives Law Commission, did not appear at yesterday's hearing.
In November 1994, the publisher applied for permission from the Local Committee for Resolving Labor Disputes to dismiss the journalists but the request was turned down.
The Indonesian Journalists Association, the Ministry of Information, and the Ministry of Manpower, at the behest of the journalists, have advised the daily's management to solve the problem amicably, Nadeak said.
But the accused refused to heed the request, even after the journalists appealed to the Central Committee for Resolving Labor Disputes, Kooswadi, a senior journalist in the group, said.
Petron, the group leader, added that "formerly we only received 50 percent of our salary, but for the last 10 months we have been left unpaid."
The journalists said they could not understand the situation because they hold at least 32 percent of the shares in the company.
Rem Patikawa and John Kusnadi, trustees of PT Media Interaksi Utama, the newspaper's publisher, told The Jakarta Post yesterday that they could not comment as they still have to study the lawsuit.
The hearing was adjourned until March 26. (16)